President Luis Abinader met in Washington, D.C. with US Secretary General Marco Rubio on Wednesday, 7 May 2025. As reported in Diario Libre, the meeting focused on the deepening crisis in Haiti and other areas of mutual interest.
According to a statement from the Dominican Presidency, Abinader reiterated his call for increased international intervention in Haiti, emphasizing the urgent need to bolster support to stem that country’s worsening security situation.
The Abinader administration has stated that the crisis in Haiti is the leading problem affecting the Dominican Republic. The DR shares a 391 km land border with Haiti and carries a heavy burden with the collapse of security and social services in Haiti. The continued worsening of the multidimensional crisis in Haiti has increased migration to the Dominican Republic. Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez has described the border as a revolving door, despite the stepping up of the pace of deportations at a high cost to the Dominican government.
US Secretary of State Rubio, meanwhile, stressed the importance of a “coordinated and solidaristic response” from the entire international community to address the crisis.
On the same day of the bilateral meeting with President Abinader, Rubio held a meeting with eastern Caribbean and Bahamas high officials. He also met with Kenyan Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign Affairs Musalia Mudavadi. Kenya has the leadership of the Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission to Haiti. Following the meetings, US Secretary Rubio announced plans to visit Kenya.
During the visit to Washington, Abinader also received the Leadership Award from the Congressional Hispanic Leadership Institute (CHLI). Diario Libre reported that the Dominican presidency regards the award as the commitment of the Dominican Republic and the United States to strengthen bilateral cooperation and jointly tackle regional challenges.
The meeting in Washington between Abinader and Rubio marks the second conversation between the two in recent days. On Friday, 2 May 2025, the US Secretary of State office had reported that Rubio had called Abinader to discuss the strong relationship between the two nations and their shared commitment to addressing regional challenges, including combating illegal immigration.
Abinader was joined at Wednesday’s meeting with US Secretary of State Rubio by Minister of the Presidency José Ignacio Paliza, Foreign Minister Roberto Álvarez, and Dominican Ambassador to the US government, Maria Isabel Castillo Baez.
The meeting follows after the brief exchange between US President Donald Trump and DR President Luis Abinader during the Pope Francisco in the Vatican See on 26 April 2025.
Read more in Spanish:
Diario Libre
Listin Diario
El Dia
TV47
US Secretary of State
US Secretary of State
US Secretary of State
8 May 2025