President Luis Abinader says he will convene former Presidents Danilo Medina, Hipolito Mejia and Leonel Fernandez to a meeting to seek harmony regarding the extraordinary measures the Dominican Republic needs to take to deal with the worsening of the multidimensional crisis in Haiti. He made the statement during the 28 April 2025 press conference.
Former President Leonel Fernandez has called for national talks and criticized the government saying that the political parties are just being asked to rubber stamp what the government has already decided.
Meanwhile, others say these are not times for talk but for action. The Abinader government is implementing a 15-point plan to bolster border security and reduce migratory pressures.
The lack of global interest in helping Haiti counter the gang control of the capital city that is spreading to the rest of the country leaves the Dominican Republic to deal with the social, security and migratory issues on its own. The Dominican Republic has a 391 km land border with Haiti.
The lack of work opportunities and collapse of social services in Haiti has increased migratory pressures, impacting the Dominican Republic that for decades has allowed the migration. The rising security crisis in Haiti has added the burden of high costs of border and migratory controls.
Leading Domincan media urge the presidential meeting take place as the situation with Haiti is now the national priority.
Several issues need to be tackled, including the complicity of military and high-ranking officials in the smuggling of goods and people over the border. The use of Haitian labor for construction and farm labor. Likewise, the difficult situation of the hundreds of thousands of irregular IDs that have been issued over the years in complicity with civil registry officials. The Central Electoral Board (JCE) has announced the renewal of the IDs for Dominicans, but a purge of the registry is also on the books and is being socialized to find solutions given that the purge would impact millions of people who have been living here for years.
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29 April 2025