The situation is still tense at the border, especially in the Pedernales area after the murder of a senior couple, Julio Perez Féliz and his wife Leyda Urbáez, in a machete attack and robbery. One Haitian, Edner Noël of three suspect brothers, was arrested by the police in Haiti in possession of the motorcycle of one of the deceased. The family is demanding that the Haitian authorities send the individuals to the Dominican Republic for trial. There is no extradition agreement with Haiti.
The Pedernales Monday and Friday marketplace has been suspended for two weeks as the local authorities demand that the suspect come to face Dominican justice, according to Luis Manuel Féliz Matos, mayor of Pedernales, and a relative of the deceased. An extra Army contingent was sent to Pedernales to impede violence. An estimated 250 Haitians returned to Haiti, fearing reprisals for the murder.
On Wednesday, 14 March 2018, Dominican and Haitian authorities met in Port au Prince to request that the lead suspect come to face charges.
Meanwhile, Defense Minister Ruben Darío Paulino Sem says that almost all Haitians who work in the border region do not have proper identity documents. He also estimated that 90-95% of the foreign work force in the country do not possess the required work permits. The vast majority of the undocumented workers are farm laborers in the northwest Dominican Republic. Paulino Sem made the comments when reviewing new efforts of the Dominican government to check migration at the border.
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Metro RD
Diario Libre
Haiti Libre
19 March 2018
