Enraged by the murder by machete of a Dominican woman and the serious injury of her husband, the community of Hatillo Palma in northwestern Monte Cristi has acted against Haitians in general living in the community. This is probably the first major xenophobia act in the Dominican Republic.
To protect innocent Haitians, the military and migration authorities on the board chose to bus around 2,000 Haitians back to Haiti.
The enraged community is acting to retaliate the Haitians that are suspect as responsible for the attempted robbery to the Luna colmado. The assailants killed Maritza Nunez and seriously injured her husband in the assault. Domingo Luna, Maritza’s husband, is hospitalized in Mao due to the serious injuries he suffered during the assault. He has serious facial wounds and cannot speak.
The three children of the couple witnessed the assault, as they were at home. The small store is located adjacent to their home.
The Department of Migration acted to avoid repression against Haitian residents in the area and provided OMSA, municipal trucks and Migration Department bus service to Haitians who would like to leave, as reported in El Caribe.
Nelson Rodriguez, a neighbor of the deceased explained that following the murder, the neighbors gathered and decided to expel all Haitians from the community in retaliation. During the burial, neighbors said they would make Justice with their own hands.
Hoy newspaper’s column Coctelera urged the arrest of the authors of the crime. “The barbarians that murdered the lady and almost killed her husband did not carry out the crime because they were Haitians. They did so because they are savages that should be in jail for the rest of their lives,” wrote the columnist.
El Nacional reported the arrest of leading suspects Fernando Yan, Willie Pie, Narciso Yan and Yaqui Yan, detained in the community when they tried to board a bus that would take them to Dajabon. The Haitians were transported to Mao where they would be sent to justice.