In a coordinated effort to enforce immigration laws and retake private property, the Migration Agency (DGM), backed by state institutions, conducted a large-scale operation in the Mata Mosquito community near Friusa, Bávaro. The intervention resulted in the arrest of over 500 undocumented individuals and the demolition of precarious dwellings, the Migration Agency reports.
The operation, focused on identifying and removing unauthorized occupants from privately-owned land, specifically targeted individuals with irregular immigration status. Authorities confirmed that the majority of those detained were Haitian nationals lacking the necessary legal documentation to reside in the country.
Those apprehended were transferred to the Haina detention center for verification and subsequent repatriation, in accordance with the country’s General Migration Law 285-04.
The joint operation involved logistical support from the National Police’s Special Unit (established under Decree 668-22), the Dominican Republic Army, and specialized tactical units. These entities collaborated in dismantling makeshift structures of zinc and wood that reportedly violated safety regulations and constituted illegal occupation.
To deter future unauthorized settlements, a permanent surveillance detail comprising military and police personnel has been established in the area. This measure aims to safeguard areas vulnerable to encroachment while ensuring adherence to international human rights protocols during immigration procedures.
The area had been described as an undercover no-man’s land and came into the public notoriety after an informal nationalist entity, the Antigua Orden Dominicana, organized a walk through Friusa that would have continued to Mata Mosquito, but was stopped by the authorities on grounds that the protestors had not included Mata Mosquito in the itinerary cleared by the Ministry of Interior & Police.
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Listin Diario
23 April 2025