SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic — The president of the Dominican Republic introduced Monday that he has suspended issuing visas to Haitians, and he threatened to close down land, air and sea site visitors between the 2 neighbors over their newest dispute.
President Luis Abinader’s transfer follows the latest excavation of a supposed canal in Haiti that Dominican officers argue will divert water from the Massacre River and hurt its farmers and the atmosphere. The river, which runs in each nations, is known as for a bloody battle between Spanish and French colonizers within the 1700s.
It just isn’t clear who, if anybody, licensed the digging of the canal in Haiti.
“If the conflict is not resolved before Thursday, (officials will) completely close the border to air, sea and land commerce,” the Dominican authorities mentioned in an announcement.
That can be an financial blow to Haiti, which will get a lot of its imports from the Dominican Republic and the place inflation has skyrocketed and poverty deepened amid a surge in gang violence.
It would additionally harm Dominican companies.
A research by the Dominican Republic’s Central Bank mentioned $430 million in casual border commerce was performed in 2017 between the 2 nations, which share the island of Hispaniola. Of that quantity, greater than $330 million represented exports to Haiti.
Haiti can also be the Dominican Republic’s third greatest associate in formal commerce, with $1 billion in exports to Haiti final 12 months and $11 million in imports, in accordance with the Export and Investment Center of the Dominican Republic.
Last week, the Dominican authorities despatched a crew to observe the development of the canal from throughout the border, with officers telling native media that it wasn’t an intimidation tactic however moderately a suggestion to assist detain, if mandatory, civilians that is likely to be engaged on the mission with out permission.
The excavation prompted Abinader final week to close the border close to the northern city of Dajabon, a vital crossing for Haitians who promote and purchase a variety of products there a number of occasions per week.
Former interim Haitian Prime Minister Claude Joseph lately defended the development of the canal and accused critics within the Dominican Republic of being nationalists and racists.
Last 12 months, Abinader banned Joseph from coming into the Dominican Republic in an unrelated dispute that heightened the simmering tensions between the 2 nations.
Abinader has sought to restrict the migration of Haitians into the Dominican Republic in recent times and has expelled tens of hundreds of Haitians and people of Haitian descen t. His administration additionally has begun work on a 118-mile (190-kilometer) wall alongside the Haitian border that Abinader introduced early final 12 months.
The final time the Dominican Republic totally closed the border its border with Haiti was in July 2021, after Haitian President Jovenel Moïse was assassinated. Since then, it has sometimes closed components of the border for safety causes.
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Associated Press author Dánica Coto in San Juan, Puerto Rico, contributed to this report.
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