The Dominican Republic shut all land, air and sea borders with Haiti on Friday in a dispute about construction of a canal on Haitian soil that taps into a shared river, as armed Dominican soldiers patrolled entry points and military planes roared overhead.
Flights were canceled and border towns usually teeming with vendors and Haitians crossing daily to work in the Dominican Republic were subdued. Crowds of people on the Haitian side gathered under the shade of trees as they observed the scene on Friday. Nearby, a white flag fluttered in the breeze under a Haitian flag in a sign of peace.
It was unclear how long the rare closure of the borders will last, with Dominican President Luis Abinader saying the measure will remain in place 91裸聊视频渁s long as necessary.91裸聊视频� The country91裸聊视频檚 Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement that the canal project violates a 1929 treaty and 91裸聊视频渕ust be halted immediately before pursuing any other dialogue.91裸聊视频�
Abinader ordered his administration to buy all perishable goods normally exported to Haiti, including chicken, onions, beans and eggplants. The food will be used for government programs that offer free meals to students and others, according to Joel Santos, minister of the presidency.
91裸聊视频淧roducers should know that the government is going to support them in this situation, because the measure taken by the president represents an issue of security and defense of national sovereignty,91裸聊视频� he said.
The diplomatic crisis began earlier this month when workers in Haiti resumed construction of a canal near the Massacre River that runs along the border, to help alleviate a drought that hit Haiti91裸聊视频檚 Maribaroux plain. The river is named after a bloody clash between Spanish and French colonizers in the 18th century, and was the site of a mass killing of Haitians by the Dominican army in 1937.
Abinader says the canal will divert water and negatively affect Dominican farmers and the surrounding environment, while Haiti91裸聊视频檚 government insists that building the canal falls within its sovereign right to decide how to use its natural resources.
The closure will represent a significant economic hit for both countries that share the island of Hispaniola, although Haiti is expected to feel it more acutely.
91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 really a very drastic measure that doesn91裸聊视频檛 make sense economically for either the Dominican Republic or Haiti,91裸聊视频� said Diego Da Rin with the International Crisis Group. 91裸聊视频淭his will clearly have very bad consequences economically in the Dominican Republic, and it will very likely worsen the humanitarian situation mostly in the areas close to the border.91裸聊视频�
Haiti is the Dominican Republic91裸聊视频檚 third biggest trading partner, with $1 billion in exports to Haiti last year and $11 million in imports, according to the Dominican Republic91裸聊视频檚 Export and Investment Center.
Meanwhile, a study by the Dominican Republic91裸聊视频檚 Central Bank found that $430 million in informal border trade was conducted in 2017 between the countries. Of that amount, more than $330 million consisted of exports to Haiti.
to discuss the situation, and were still meeting on Thursday when , prompting the Haitian government to criticize what it called a 91裸聊视频渦nilateral91裸聊视频� decision.
Da Rin called Abinader91裸聊视频檚 actions an overreaction and noted that he confirmed last month he is running for re-election, and appeared to be staking out tough stance on migration. 91裸聊视频淢aybe Abinader thinks this is a way to portray himself as a strong nationalist leader who will be the only one 91裸聊视频� able to really stop the 91裸聊视频楬aitian invasion91裸聊视频� as he always calls the growing migration influx.91裸聊视频�
On Friday, Haiti91裸聊视频檚 Support Group for Returnees and Refugees condemned Abinader91裸聊视频檚 moves, and said the canal work should continue.
91裸聊视频淐losing the border will bring big consequences for Haitian migrants,91裸聊视频� coordinator Ketia Bront茅 said.
She warned that more people are going to cross the border illegally and that the number of cases of human trafficking and contraband would likely increase.
91裸聊视频淗aiti and the Dominican Republic are two nations whose history is intertwined,91裸聊视频� she said. 91裸聊视频淭heir destiny is linked to living together on an island.91裸聊视频�
Abinader announced this week that he has . He also has pushed to limit the number of Haitians migrating to the Dominican Republic and . Bront茅 noted that in August alone, some 22,000 Haitians were deported 91裸聊视频� twice the usual monthly number.
The Dominican Republic also has started building a 118-mile (190-kilometer) wall along the Haitian border that he announced early last year.
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