Venezuelan social activist, Ana María Rodríguez, was detained for several hours on Saturday, 12 May 2018, by Migration Agency officers after accompanying five Venezuelans to pay fines in Dajabón in order to legally extend her stay for three more months in the country.
She was later released on Saturday evening together with the five Venezuelans that were placed in the care of Father Mario Serrano of the Centro Montalvo. Afterwards, reports are that the Venezuelans were taken to the Centro de Detención de Haiti in San Cristóbal from where they would be deported.
On Friday, 11 May 2018, Rodríguez had participated in a hearing by the InterAmerican Commission of Human Rights (CIDH) on the situation of Venezuelan immigrants in the Dominican Republic.
Rodríguez was arrested along with Jesús Manuel Osorio Márquez, Elvis Enrique Rincón Zicardi, Yuli Rincón Piñate, Francisbel del Valle Macías and Alcides Osorio Márquez. According to Serrano, Rodríguez has legal status in the country and has for the past year been accompanying fellow Venezuelans to pay the fees to extend their stay in the country. He said the Migration agents in Dajabón “know” her.
Venezuelans can travel to the Dominican Republic without a visa and, generally, they are granted a permit to stay of up to two months in the country. However, when this period is due to expire, the Venezuelans travel to Haiti through Dajabón and return to Dominican territory to start their permitted stay period again.
Members of the Venezuelan diaspora in the Dominican Republic have been asking the Dominican government to grant them a special immigration status, such as granted to Haitians.
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Diario Libre
7 Dias
14 May 2018
