Why do you think I'm so concerned?
I know you guys don't believe me, but I care for DR much more than any other country.
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Haiti recalling Ambassador from DR
Why do you think I'm so concerned?
I know you guys don't believe me, but I care for DR much more than any other country.
Why do you think I'm so concerned?
I know you guys don't believe me, but I care for DR much more than any other country.
I do. You have persisted in remaining here despite the country passing through its worst decade ever, so that should amount to something.
Lots of folks who are talking about this subject in the press clearly know very little about the situtation
There has been a specialized border patrol for the frontier for more than 7 years, specially trained, paid more than the regular military .. CESFRONT |
There has been a specialized border patrol for the frontier for more than 7 years, specially trained, paid more than the regular military .. CESFRONT |
With all due respect MA, they're not doing a very good job. DR wouldn't be in this predicament if they were.
Well, AE, if one opens the gates to the country in four places three times a week and lets in a mass of people, one cannot expect any sort of miliary to be able to stop them.. The Haitians can just go up to the hills or hide in the Haitian homes or wherever.. there is an entire network to get them into Santiago and the Captiol.. just like into the States etc. Once they are past the border areas, there are no checks.
While the Ambassador says this has nothing to do with trade.. well. perhaps it does not.. but the border "markets" are not locked off from the towns in any way, it would require a force about 10 times the size for CESFRONT to patrol, But Dajabon, particularly, makes a lot of money renting sidewalk space to vendors, renting hotel rooms.. ditto Elias Pinas.. The little market area in Pedernales is pretty well enclosed. But the hills of south of Barahona are full of Haitians.
I was only observing that lots of folks who are commenting have clearly not even been to the border!
While the Ambassador says this has nothing to do with trade.. well. perhaps it does not.. but the border "markets" are not locked off from the towns in any way, it would require a force about 10 times the size for CESFRONT to patrol, But Dajabon, particularly, makes a lot of money renting sidewalk space to vendors, renting hotel rooms.. ditto Elias Pinas.. The little market area in Pedernales is pretty well enclosed. But the hills of south of Barahona are full of Haitians.
I was only observing that lots of folks who are commenting have clearly not even been to the border!
Castle, can you explain this? Do you mean DR pays 0.00rd per gallon for the gas/oil from venezuela? Surely that can't be correct. because of your post I read up on petrocaribe. Didn't help me understand this post. Care to elaborate?
Exactly. DR's economic class is putting economic interest ahead of nation.
DR must drastically reduce its economic involvement in/with Haiti or it has no choice but to accept Haiti's destitutes.
DR is supposed to pay Petrocaribe just like all other countries. One of the advantages Petrocaribe offers is theh accept goods as payment. DR said they were going to pay with goods and the rest would be financed per Petrocaribe terms, which I think it's 20 years. Other countries have chosen this way of payment also, and have been sending all kind of goods to Venezuela, specially food (meat, chicken, rice, beans, etc). However, DR has not sent anything yet since Petrocaeibe was established 5 years ago. They said they were going tl send chicken but then there was the problem with the flu. Then they said they were going to send habichuelas and Venezuela said ok as long as they were black, which are the kind most consumed there, but DR doesn't produce enough black habichuelas. Two weeks ago a mission was sent to Caracas to discuss other options, but so far an agreement has not been reached. The debt today is around 5 billion dollars and increasing every month.
Not according to this article:
Last year, the Dominicans sent beans, literally: 10,000 tons of black beans headed to Venezuela to repay the petroleum debt. What's more, to plant those beans the Dominican government had to import seeds from the United States – which has frigid diplomatic relations with Venezuela.
Under a deal struck with Ch?vez, the Dominican government does pay for the crude it has received daily in recent years – but not necessarily in cash.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Americas/2013/0327/Petrocaribe-Paying-beans-for-Venezuelan-oil
Even it was true, which I know for sure it isn't, a quick math tells me that 10k tons of beans cost maybe 50 million dollars. The 50k barrels of oil a day Venezuela sends to DR are about 5 millon dollars a day. So with 10k tons of bean DR paid 10 days of oil.
You know for sure that this is not true? Just google it, it's all over the internet.
You do know that Haiti is on PetroCaribe as well, right? What have they paid the Venezuelans with, may I ask?
oh, ok. that helps. When I was reading on petrocaribe I was thinking how complex the payment and financing schemes are. Must employ lots of lawyers and accountants in caracas, london, miami and NY. Not being a Chavista myself I am inclined to look skeptically at venezuela's alliances. And Yes I know that venezuelan gas could be in my car at this very moment. Thanks for responding. you and the poster below were more informative than the petrocaribe site. that's why I love DR1. Unvarnished and unapologetic!
Glad to read that some ambassadors have higher purposes than swilling booze at Santo Domingo embassy parties.
So, you are better at math than I am. can you figure out how much oil/gas was used to produce and transport those beans? with so much petro required for large scale farming I wonder if it doesn't just balance out. btw, math sure is easier in intervals of ten, isn't it?
The situation with Haiti is different. As far as I know, Haiti didn't choose to pay with goods, given their obvious lack of production, but to pay cash instead. Haiti does not have a public oil company to receive the oil, which is one of the requisites of Petrocaribe, so something was worked out with a complicated network of haitian companies. I know the US opposed Haiti entering Petrocaribe since day one, and in many ways pressured Preval not to do it. Preval did it, and as result he "got sick" and Martelli was pushed forward by the US to be Haiti's president. The future of Petrocaribe in Haiti in uncertain. I admit I have no information about if or how Haiti is paying. What little I know I learned from someone related to Petrocaribe in DR, and really don't have much information about Haiti on this.
Preval served two terms as Haiti's president which is the maximum allowed under their Constitution. He was not running for president. It is true that his party's candiate was knocked out of the run off.. some say by the Washington behind the scenes. and replaced by Martelly who came in third.
Haiti's only foreign debt now is to PetroCaribe. While the press keeps reporting that it is poor.. the bulk of its foreign debts were forgiven after the quake. I think that Haiti actually holds the record for having its foreign debt forgiven but they never factor that in when they clamour for reparations from France, etc/.
Haiti's only foreign debt now is to PetroCaribe. While the press keeps reporting that it is poor.. the bulk of its foreign debts were forgiven after the quake. I think that Haiti actually holds the record for having its foreign debt forgiven but they never factor that in when they clamour for reparations from France, etc/.
They should not. The froggies hace A LOT to answer for on this one. From the sugar/coffee/indigo/woods extracted down to the million or so lives spent on the plantations.
well they are never gonna get it.. and they still sorta REVERE their French heritage stuff.. with the Bac and the French language vs Kreyole.. I agree that it was unjust. I mean HUGELY unjust but it was not just France.. it was the US and GB as well. And there has been a lot of aid. Haiti can get all stuck in its past so easily. Back to the defeat of Napoleon. Gotta move on.. Gotta Get over it.. what is done is done..