The Dominican high command of the Armed Forces, along with United States military security advisors from the Southern Command, are touring the Dominican-Haitian frontier today at the same time a high level diplomatic commission is visiting Port-au-Prince to deal with bilateral immigration issues and other topics. Armed Forces Minister, Admiral Sigfrido Pared Perez said that the two activities were a coincidence. Dominican Foreign Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso said that his visit to Port-au-Prince was a follow-up of the visit by Gerard Abraham, the Haitian minister last May. He said they plan to reactivate the Dominican-Haitian Mixed Bilateral Commission as well as review the existing agreements regarding migrations between the two countries. This activity is part of the preparations for the meeting of the National Council on Migrations that has been called by President Fernandez to session on 18 July.
Admiral Pared Perez said that Fernandez had asked the chief of the United States Southern Command, General Bantz J. Craddock, to send a frontier security expert to take a look at the 380-kilometer border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Pared Perez and his guests will make the trip by helicopter. Among those said to make the trip are US ambassador Hans Hertell, Army chief of staff, Major General Ricardo Estrella Fernandez and the chief of J-2 (Army intelligence), Major General Rafael Ramirez Ferreiras. The military chief said that one of the issues that has prompted this inspection trip is the fact that the Haitian border is vulnerable to drug trafficking or terrorist penetration and the government needs to learn how to control it.