Military officials in the Dominican Republic report that a shootout between troops and suspect cement smugglers at the Haitian border near Carrizal in Elías Piña province left three Haitians and one Dominican soldier injured on Saturday, 18 August 2018. The crossing point is unauthorized for commercial traffic.
The Dominican version of what happened was shared by Defense Minister Ruben Paulino Sem and Foreign Minister Miguel Vargas in a press conference that soldiers had tried to stop a contraband load of cement when they came under fire from Haitians on Saturday. Of six trucks loaded with cement, only three had been cleared for crossing.
As reported, a group of Haitians tried to take by force the three trucks that were loaded with cement from the Dominican side of the border, but had not yet passed through customs and immigration. Afterwards, disturbances broke out on the Haitian side.
Defense Minister Ruben Dario Paulino Sem said that security on the border is being reinforced with equipment, weapons and more soldiers after the incident.
He disputed what had been said by the Haitian authorities and clarified that the action took place on Dominican soil. He says this is confirmed by satellite images. “At no time did our agents cross the border line or intervene in the territory of Haiti,” said the Defense Minister during the press conference on Sunday, 19 August 2018.
Furthermore, Elías Piña province senator Adriano Sánchez Roa explained: “What happened was that at the time that Cesfront stopped the trucks around 100 and 150 Haitians, many who were armed, caused the problem.”
Defense Minister Paulino Sem explained that the clash occurred on Saturday, 18 August at around 11am when Cesfront members prevented the departure from Dominican territory of three Haitian-registered trucks because their drivers could not present the documents that gave legality to the merchandise. These trucks did not comply with the customs and immigration requirements.
Minutes later, Haitians living in the town of Belladére tried to take the trucks by force and, faced with the resistance of the soldiers, an attack was started with weapons of different types, an action that was repelled by the border agents.
The action of the Haitians created a disorder in the aforementioned town, which lasted about five hours and forced the police of that country to intervene with tear gas bombs to disperse the mob when it acted in their territory.
The Ministry of Defense reiterated that the clash with Dominican soldiers occurred in Dominican territory, in the area known as “La Cadena”, where there is no authorized passage for the crossing of vehicles and goods.
The troops protected the warehouses on the Dominican side to avoid further damage, obliging that laws be complied with, despite the mob that had penetrated the country.”
Following the shootout there was a meeting between Dominican authorities and those from Belladere in Haiti. On the Dominican delegation were representatives of the Specialized Corps of Border Security (Cesfront), the Customs Agency, Elías Piña senator Adriano Sánchez Roa and the provincial governor. It was subsequently agreed that there would be a second meeting but it did not take place when the Haitian delegation did not attend.
Haitian President Jovenel Moise had declared that the Haitian authorities had instructions to take the appropriate measures in order to “respect territorial integrity” and deplored the incident in which he said that Dominican soldiers injured four Haitians. In his Twitter account he maintained there was a territorial violation but did not specify which territory was violated.
President Jovenel Moïse had written on his Twitter account: “I regret the incidents that occurred on the border in Belladère, following a territorial violation, during which compatriots were injured […] I ask the people of Belladère to keep calm and maintain serenity. Instructions have been given to the competent authorities to accompany victims and border residents in general.”
On Monday, 20 August 2018, Belladere Mayor Ledoux Macklish admitted that they were not sure Dominican soldiers had violated Haitian territory. He told the Haitian press that the incident had occurred in a neutral zone that is under control of Dominican authorities, as reported in Diario Libre. Macklish admitted to Le Nouvelliste journalists in Haiti that it had been Haitians who had first fired at Dominican soldiers.
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Al Momento
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
Diario Libre
Le Nouvelliste
21 August 2018
