Defense Minister Lieutenant General Maximo Munoz Delgado told reporters yesterday, Wednesday 10 December 2014 that the border with Haiti is being reinforced with 1,800 new troops in preparation for the Christmas season. He said that troop numbers were being increased in anticipation of a possible increase in the flow of immigrants making the illegal crossing during the holiday season.
“The border is protected; we have increased the number of troops at this time of the year when we all know that many Haitians are going to cross over during these Christmas festivities with their families.”
Munoz Delgado said that as part of the “Peaceful Christmas” operation that began last week, the Ministry of Defense sent some 2,800 of their own troops to patrol the streets, in combination with members of the National Police. He defended the presence of the soldiers on the streets of the capital city. He recalled that the work that the troops carry out is done at the request of the police, who are the coordinators of the operation.