Diario Libre comments on a report published in The Economist this week that stated that followers of Jean-Bertrand Aristide were transported by Dominican-based helicopters from Haiti to the DR, and had to pay hefty sums for the ?service.?
Approximately 60 high-ranking Aristide loyalists were said to have paid US$10,000 each, or about RD$28 million to be taken out of Haiti to DR soil. The magazine does not specify who the Haitians paid or who coordinated the transport of the Haitian government officers.
Dominican military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Juan Julio Tejeda denied that the Haitian officials had been transported to the DR. ?The information is false,? said Tejeda.