For over 150 years, rustlers from Haiti have preyed on cattle ranchers along the border, even as far east as Santiago Rodriguez and Guayubin in Montecristi province. Some 19th Century leaders such as the famous Benito Moncion stayed the onslaught of rustlers through draconian mutilation as punishment for rustlers, rather than the hanging so popular in the Old West of the United States at that time.
However, an increase in rustling has been in the news for at least the past 18 months, with ironic tales of cattle being found in corrals at police stations on the other side of the border and “ransomed” back to the legitimate owners as a “favor.”
Late last week, members of the Dominican Army had a shootout with rustlers herding seven head of cattle that morning towards Haiti, and successfully recovered the animals. All this occurred at the Presa la Piña in the Los Miches, Don Miguel section in Dajabon province. The commander of the 10th Infantry Battalion, Colonel Yoel Marte Rodriguez, took the animals to their owner.
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El Caribe
5 February 2024