In heated statements, President Luis Abinader lashed out at Amnesty International for criticizing the Dominican policy of repatriating illegal Haitian nationals.
Before a meeting with former President Hipolito Mejia, both Mejia and Abinader posed outside to greet the press. Upon being asked about the recent condemnation of the Dominican Republic by Amnesty International that has called for an immediate stop to the deportations of Haitians, Abinader noted quite heatedly, that Haiti had been abandoned by the international community.
President Abinader says that the “[DR] will continue to do what it has been doing, which is in accordance with its migration laws and protecting the Dominican Republic.”
Then, quite forcefully, the President recommended that Amnesty International “ go into Haiti and fight the gangs!” He went on to add: “Go into Haiti and do what we have been doing; for three years we have been calling on the international community to take care of this problem.” thir
The meeting with Hipolito Mejia, who was President from 2000 to 2004, was the third carried out with former Presidents, including Leonel Fernandez (1996-2000, 2004-2008, 2008-2012) and Danilo Medina (2012-2016 and 2016-2020) to forge a joint position on the impact of the crisis in Haiti in the Dominican Republic and actions to take.
Parallel to these talks, the Social and Economic Council (CES) is hosting talks to come up with recommendations to the government.
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Listin Diario
Diario Libre
14 July 2025