The tragic outcome of the attempted border crossing has caused widespread disgust among Dominicans and demands that the authorities get to the bottom of the profitable people smuggling operations that are known to be ongoing in the border area.
President Fernandez expressed his condolences to the Haitian people and guaranteed that there would be a thorough investigation to locate those responsible for this tragedy. Earlier, his Presidential press director, Rafael Nunez had said the case was “horrendous.” He highlighted that the Attorney General’s office is in charge of the investigations. “It does not matter if the responsible are government officers, high ranking military or influential civilians,” he stated, as reported in the Listin Diario. “Any person involved will receive the maximum penalty,” he stated. Spokesman Roberto Rodriguez said there would not be any “sacred cows” in this case and the responsible will be sent to justice.
Cardinal Nicolas Lopez Rodriguez regretted the tragedy and stated that the Armed Forces security personnel should have never allowed the vehicle to enter. “This shows the soldiers are not fulfilling their duty… the Armed Forces informed that there were over 5,000 soldiers on duty on the border. This is very serious, controls must be revised,” stated the leader of the Catholic Church.
Meanwhile, Armed Forces Minister Sigfrido Pared Perez assured that “the fact that these people spend several days trying to get into Dominican territory indicates that there is heavy surveillance along the border. In this case one can tell they used all means to evade surveillance,” he stated. As reported in the Listin Diario, Pared Perez said that an investigation is ongoing to determine if there was complicity of the military stationed in the border.
Attorney General Francisco Dominguez Brito announced that those involved would be accused of violating Law 137-03 on illicit trafficking of immigrants. He said these face the maximum penalty, or sentences of 30 years in jail.