President Abinader has ordered a ban on entry of Haitian politician Claude Joseph and 12 persons known as gang leaders in Haiti. Joseph served as Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs and Worship from 4 March 2020 to 24 November 2021, and served as acting Prime Minister of Haiti from 14 April 2021 to 20 July 2021, and acting President of Haiti from 7 July 2021 to 20 July 2021.
The ban on gang members includes Jimmy Cherizier (Barbecue), leader of the armed gang 400 Mawozo.
The Presidency issued a note to the director of the Migration Agency (DGM), Venancio Alcántara Valdez:
“I, Luis Abinader, constitutional president of the Dominican Republic, by virtue of the attributions conferred to me by literal b, numeral 1, of article 128 of the Constitution of the Republic dictate the following instruction”, says the president when he requests to prevent the entry to the national territory of Claude Joseph, Jimmy Cherizier alias Barbecue; Innocent Vitel’Homme, known as Vitelom – Gang Vitelom (Torcelle); Destina Renel alias Ti Lapli – Gang Grand Ravine; Wilson Joseph known as Lanmo San Jou, of the 400 Mawozo gang.
In addition to Claudy Celestin aka Chen Mechan- Gang Chen Mechan (Carrefour-Tabarre); Alexandre Ezechiel , aka Ze – Baz Pilat; Kempes Sanon Baz BelAir; Chery Christ-Roi aka Chris-La; Felix Monel aka Mikano – Baz Waff Jeremie; Jean Pierre Gabriel aka Ti Gabriel – Gpèp; Alexis Serge Renel aka Ti Junior and Orlichen Emile aka Pe Lebren- Baz Delmas.”
Former Prime Minister Joseph has strongly criticized the Dominican government and the current Haitian authorities.
Last June, Joseph branded Abinader a “hypocrite” after he claimed that the Dominican Republic did not agree to regularize Haitian immigrants during the meetings of the IX Summit of the Americas. “This is a man who does not fulfill his promise at the national level on many issues but believes he can use Haiti as his last resort to please the ultra-nationalists in his country and win votes,” Joseph said in a series of tweets at the time, Listin Diario reports.
Likewise, and through that same social network, on 26 August 2022, the former prime minister called for a general mobilization against Prime Minister Ariel Henry, whom he criticized for not acting against armed gangs, crimes and kidnappings in that nation. Criminal gangs operating in Haiti have spread to the north, northwest and northwest of that country, near and on routes to the Dominican border.
Many in Haiti suspect that several members of these gangs engaged in kidnapping, arms trafficking, drugs, robberies, and killings, among other crimes, are located in some parts of the Dominican Republic.
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Listin Diario
8 September 2022