The new commander of the Dominican Republic Army, Major General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre has had nothing to say regarding accusations by a senator and mayors in Dajabon, Jimaní and Pedro Santana in the border region with Haiti on unofficial tolls charged to transporters carrying undocumented Haitians. The tolls would be required at military stations on the access roads from the border to the rest of the country, reports N Digital.
N Digital said that the head of the Specialized Corps of Land Border Security, Brigadier General Frank Mauricio Cabrera Rizek, neither has been available for comments on the charging of the tolls. “No comment”, was all that the Cesfront director said briefly about the allegation that the military is part of the mafias for the illegal smuggling of undocumented Haitians entering DR territory.
Fernandez Onofre was appointed on 16 August 2022 as commander of the Army. He previously served as president of the Retirement Board and Pension Fund of the Armed Forces.
Mayors Santiago Riverón (PRM-Dajabón), Dionisys Méndez (PLD-Jimaní), Independencia province and Hipólito Valenzuela (PRD-Pedro Santana), Elías Piña province, revealed to N Digital that the military charges tolls for each Haitian allowed to enter through the formal border crossings.
Ruling Modern Revolutionary Party (PRM) senator for Dajabon, David Sosa recently presented a video during a Senate session with evidence of what he calls the many unofficial tolls that minibuses transporting undocumented persons need to pay on border roads to reach their Dominican final destinations.
Mayor Santiago Riverón (PRM-Dajabón) says that the military is spending millions to build a wall separating Haiti and the Dominican Republic. He remarked that in addition to the wall, another one should be erected in the minds of the military to see if they stop the business that for years has been going on regarding the entry of undocumented migrants in exchange for fees. Riveron says the business is very lucrative and starts with the Haitians that enter freely on the binational market days and then pay the fees to continue on to their final destinations in the Dominican Republic.
“The market days, two days a week, are terrible for us, because this business is done right there, at the door of the market, where Haitians and Dominicans converge,”said Riverón.
The official mayor went on to explain that, after entering the territory of Dajabón, the undocumented immigrants are taken to shelters or hotels and at night, they are transferred to different towns.
Mayor Dionisys Mendez told N Digital that the transfer of undocumented migrants sponsored by Dominican soldiers is an old practice and involves civilians. “The military are not alone in that; they may be accomplices and allow passage through the checkpoints, but then: they are civilians who are in charge of the vehicles and the distribution of those who enter,” said Mendez.
Speaking during a regular session of the Senate, senator David Sosa (Fuerza del Pueblo-Dajabon) recently said that the Dominican military is part of the migration problem of the Dominican Republic. Sosa presented a video with evidence of what he calls the many unofficial tolls that minibuses transporting undocumented persons need to pay on border roads to reach their Dominican final destinations.
David Sosa made the statements on 24 August 2022 to the floor of the Senate. He charged the military as the responsible for the problem, as these allow the undocumented aliens to enter. He said nothing enters without the military being aware of what is going on. He said the migration rules and laws are not complied with on the border, leading to a greater chaos in the trafficking of Haitians.
Sosa is critical of the fence under construction at a millionaire cost by the Ministry of Defense. He said it is easily violated, as reported in Diario Libre.
A press release indicates that Major General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre on 31 August 2022 was on a supervisory tour of the military units located in the southwestern provinces Elías Piña, San Juan, Azua and San José de Ocoa. The visit began with a visit to the “Estrelleta” fortress, headquarters of the 11th battalion of the Army’s 3rd Infantry Brigade, located in the province of Elías Piña on the border with Haiti.
During the tour, the Army Commander General also visited the Interagency Post of Coordinated Management in Carrizal, located in the municipality of Comendador, the gateway of the formal crossing to the Republic of Haiti, the military units of Carrizal, Pedro Santana, Bánica and Matayaya.
In addition, Las Matas de Farfán, and the headquarters of the 3rd Infantry Brigade in San Juan, the 13th Infantry Battalion in Azua and the checkpoints of the 15th of Azua, Los Pilones and the Interagency Post of Coordinated Management in Los Pilones.
The Army said the objective of the visits was to supervise the operational readiness of the soldiers in the area, verify the conditions of the military posts to strengthen the operational capabilities of the soliders and contribute to raise the levels of security in the region.
During the tour, Major General Fernandez Onofre paid courtesy visits to the Governors of the provinces of Elias Piña, San Juan and Azua, Milly Johanna Martinez, Elvira Corporan de los Santos and Angela Maruja Perez, respectively.
Accompanying the Commander General on the tour were Major Generals Ángel Alfredo Camacho Ubiera and Jorge Luis Morel De Dios, Deputy Commander General and Assistant Intelligence Officer G-2 of the Army, respectively.
Read more:
N Digital
N Digital
Diario Libre
El Caribe
DR1 News
1 September 2022