President Luis Abinader told the editors of Corripio Media Group that the Dominican Republic more than a migration problem with Haiti has a national security problem.
Abinader reiterated that after the murder of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise, the situation in the neighboring country has gone downhill, with an alarming increase in the control of the armed gangs, especially in the southern zone of the country. Moise was assassinated on 7 July 2021 during the first Abinader government, accelerating the collapse of institutional governance in Haiti.
President Luis Abinader warned that the crisis in neighboring Haiti has evolved beyond a migration issue and now poses a serious national security threat to the Dominican Republic.
“We are not only facing a migration problem. We are facing a national security issue with the Haitian situation,” the president stated, referring to the escalating violence and instability in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, where he said criminal organizations now control 90% of the southern region of the country.
Abinader emphasized that the threat is no longer distant, noting that armed gangs have already reached central areas such as Caobas and Mirebalais — just 60 kilometers from the Dominican border, in the Haitian department of Artibonite.
“They’ve already reached the center of Haiti,” the president warned during his appearance at the Weekly Luncheon hosted by the Corripio Communications Group, where he was accompanied by members of the Corripio family.
Corripio Media Group includes the Listin Diario, Hoy and El Dia.
Read more in Spanish:
Listin Diario
El Dia
Hoy
7 August 2025