DR1 Daily News - Dominican Republic

President Luis Abinader closed down all commerce with Haiti, by land, sea, or air on Friday, 16 September 2023 in the morning. Binational markets that enabled undocumented Haitians to cross over were ordered stopped in Jimani, Elias Piña and Dajabón. The Dominican government is still allowing Haitians that seek to return to Haiti to do so by a smaller single person gate at the borders.

This very stiff reaction comes as Haiti continues work on the canal that will take water from the Masacre River that divides the two nations in the north. Dominican farmers say the large canal will affect the level of water available for Dominican farmers. Local experts warn that if there are intense rains, the channeling of the waters as being carried out in Haiti will destroy crops in that country, turning the construction of the canal into a boomerang for Haiti itself.

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