Two weeks after Listin Diario revealed details of the mega business travel agencies in Haiti have with apparent complicity of Dominican authorities, the newspaper reports the situation continues as normal. Reporter Carolina Pichardo says she has not received an explanation from the Dominican authorities about the visa operation that is ongoing when Dominican consulates in Haiti are officially closed. The visas are available at the travel agencies in Haiti and are promoted on social media channels.
The investigation published by Listin Diario revealed the Dominican consulates in Haiti have issued 726,300 visas in seven and a half years, and only rejected 0.02% of the total number of requests for the consular document.
The newspaper revealed that in Haiti there is a “parallel or black market business” in the delivery of Dominican visas, and that travel agencies sell the documents with a hefty overprice.
Listin Diario reports that since 20 October 2022, Listín Diario has requested an interview with the current deputy minister for Consular Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Relations, Opinio Díaz, to no avail.
After the publication of the findings in the Listin Diario on 28 November 2022, Listín Diario’s reporter again contacted the Ministry of Foreign Relations to ask for reactions to this ”parallel business in the issuance of visas”, but the Ministry of Foreign Relations has not responded.
Listin Diario reports that due to the violence in Haiti, the five Dominican consulates in Haiti (Anse-a-Pitre, Belladere, Cap Haitien, Juana Mendez and Port-au-Prince) and the Embassy in the Haitian capital have been closed since 15 September 2022.
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Listin Diario
DR1 News
DR1 News
12 December 2022