President Luis Abinader convened the National Security Council after a violent incident involving Haitians that affected the largest free zone manufacturing operation in the country, Codevi. The Industrial Development Company (Codevi) is located at the border with Haiti with a part of its installations in Haiti and the other in the Dominican Republic.
After the meeting at the Presidency, Defense Minister Carlos Luciano Diaz Morfa told the press the situation is under control and the incident occurred on the Haitian side.
He said once the mobs vandalized the installations, the internal security plan of Codevi went into effect. The president of the company, Fernando Capellán confirmed that a mob of Haitians had forced their way into the company’s facilities, causing destruction and looting. The occurrence is tied to a violations committed
Hoy describes the situation as an incident between Haitian nationals who clashed in the surroundings of the free zone, which was taken advantage of by unscrupulous persons to try to take control of the place, which was not possible due to the intervention of the authorities.
In addition, as a consequence of what happened, CODEVI’s administration issued a statement stating it would not reopen until security in the zone was guaranteed.
Following the incident, the Executive Branch called an emergency meeting of the National Security Council and the Ministry of Defense to take stock of the situation.
After the meeting of the National Security Council, members of the Specialized Corps of Border Security (Cesfront), the National Army and the Police were dispatched to Codevi. All employees were dispatched for the day after the incident that occurred on noon on Thursday, 29 September. Some 14,000 people are employed in Codevi, most Haitian workers.
El Caribe reported that the incident originated when the Haitian Ouanaminthe mayor Lumma Demetrius tried to cross from Dajabón to Haiti through the Codevi access.
Reports are of two dead Haitians and several injured, and material damages to the Codevi hospital, ambulance, fire truck and glass windows at the office.
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Ici Haiti
El Nuevo Diario
Hoy
El Caribe
Diario Libre
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El Dia
El Dia
Hoy
3 October 2022