Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez denied that the Dominican Republic had issued 400,000 visas to Haitians in 2024 as former President Leonel Fernandez had written in his opinion piece in Listin Diario on Monday, 30 September 2024. The former President is the leading opposition spokesperson in the Dominican Republic. He was the runner up in the 2024 presidential election.
Foreign Minister Alvarez is in Mexico with President Luis Abinader for the swearing-in ceremony of President-elect Claudia Sheinbaum but posted on his X account that the number of visas issued was 102 for reason of humanitarian commerce.
“Upon my return to the country, we will invite the media to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify that our consulates in Haiti have issued only 102 visas for humanitarian trade purposes since September 2023,” stated Álvarez.
In September 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Relations announced it would not issue regular visas to Haitian nationals to travel to the Dominican Republic. Likewise, all flights between both countries were discontinued. The actions were taken after the dispute over the Haitian construction of a canal that would divert waters from the Dominican Republic and for security reasons.
Haiti is under the siege of around 300 heavily armed gangs that control around 80% of Port-au-Prince and whose control has been spreading to large areas in the country. The Dominican Republic shares a 400 km border with Haiti.
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Diario Libre
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
Listin Diario
7 Dias
El Dia
1 October 2024