Haiti Customs authorities have detained 27 cargo freighters laden at the Ouanaminthe border checkpoint bound for the northern city of Cap-Haitien, announced National Federation of Dominican Transport (Fenatrado) spokesman Blas Peralta, whose members were affected.
Peralta said that the border Police authorities ordered the drivers to return to the Dominican Republic, but Customs kept the cargo arguing that it had already entered Haiti.
As reported, Fenatrado’s representative in Dajabon Jhovanny Escoto tried to retrieve the freighters, the trucks and the cargo, but his requests were ignored. A total of 24 trucks were retained in Ouanaminthe and another three in Cap-Haitien. This is the latest in a series of incidents involving the Haitian government.
Peralta also warned Dominican truckers against traveling to Haiti. He said that protests are scheduled for today, Friday, 6 March 2015 in both Ouanaminthe and Cap-Haitien, which could affect Dominican cargo transporters, and advised them to wait until the situation returns to normal before crossing the border again. Peralta said that he tried to communicate with the Haitian police to ask them to guarantee the safety of the transporters’ cargo.
Peralta blamed the situation on extremists on both the Dominican and Haitian sides, who he said, “wanted to create chaos to cause war between both countries.” He said that the Dominican military attache in Haiti had spoken to the Haitian Police on Thursday, 5 March 2015, asking for protection for the freight trucks that were retained in Haitian Customs. They are concerned that extremists could seize the trucks, burn them and steal the cargo. Most of the seized trucks are laden with construction materials and food products.
Peralta said that extremist groups in Haiti are disseminating a video of a Haitian immigrant who was hung in a Santiago park with his hands and feet tied up to provoke anti-Dominican sentiment in Haiti. He said the instigating groups claim that Dominicans had committed the murder, which could be used as a pretext for retaliatory attacks on Dominicans. The Dominican Police say that the murder was carried out by Haitians, and has asked Spain for forensic assistance to close the case.
On Wednesday, 4 March 2015, the Dominican government ordered the temporary closure of the five Dominican consulates and the Embassy following a series of attacks that placed mission staff at risk.
Meanwhile, the Dominican Army’s Specialized Border Security Corps (Cesfront) and other security agencies announced that they were stepping up border security, especially around the site of the Dajabon bi-national market. Diario Libre reports that the Friday and Monday market days are likely to be cancelled.
http://www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2015/3/5/358838/Inseguridad-en-Haiti-frena-el-paso-de-carga-desde-RD
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2015/03/06/i1043381_temen-que-patanas-cargadas-sean-quemadas-por-grupos-haitianos.html
http://www.diariolibre.com/noticias/2015/03/06/i1043381_temen-que-patanas-cargadas-sean-quemadas-por-grupos-haitianos.html
http://elnuevodiario.com.do/app/article.aspx?id=414754