A judge in the Permanent Attention Office of the National District has ordered three months of pretrial detention for one of the Haitian citizens accused of assaulting two agents of the Migration Agency (DGM) during a migration inspection operation in the Piantini sector of the National District.
One of the accused has been identified as Almonord Donal, who faces charges for allegedly attacking agents Kelvin Valdez Rivas and Silvio Marino Pérez. Two other Haitians, Juanse Suaci and Yurelisa, were allowed to post bail for RD$15,000 and are barred from leaving the country. They must also report to court periodically. This is confrontations with Migration agents in the past have just resulted in the deportation of the foreigner.
A 16-year-old involved in the incident was referred to the Juvenile Court to determine his involvement in the case.
According to Migration, the incident occurred when Valdez Rivas, along with a Dominican Navy officer, was following a foreign national at a construction site. Upon entering the site, the workers allegedly dragged the agents into a construction pit and assaulted them. Valdez Rivas was disarmed and shot in the thigh.
The defendants’ lawyer, Julio Polanco, claims that his clients are not in the country illegally.
“The ones who acted illegally were the Migration agents who entered private property,” the lawyer stated in response to questions from journalists.
However, local press reports that the four foreigners were working at the construction site without the necessary documents to validate their legal status in the Dominican Republic.
The Dominican Republic stepped up its deportations as of October 2024 with the escalating of violence in Haiti.
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Listin Diario
Diario Libre
Diario Libre
16 December 2024