The laissez-faire attitude of the authorities regarding crimes affecting Haitians and Dominicans on the border has stirred Dominicans to take action on their own, which is increasing the tensions on the border. Father Regino Martinez of the Jesuit Service to Refugees and Migrants told El Caribe that the authorities have been lax in dealing with crimes involving Haitians on the border. This has led to the tensions that climaxed with the population of Hatillo Palma, in Monte Cristi, joining to seek that Haitians forcefully leave the town following the assassination of a woman and serious injury of her husband. “Here on the frontier there has been no follow up to any case of death of Haitians or Dominicans,” he told El Caribe newspaper. “Nothing is ever investigated in these parts,” he said. The murder of Maritza Nunez and the serious injuries her husband Domingo Antonio Luna have suffered are not the only crimes attributed to Haitians in the border area in recent months, comments the Monte Cristi prosecutor Marcroni de Jesus Mora. He justifies the reaction of rejection of the Dominicans against the immigrants as a reflection of the collective indignity generated by the Ccrime. He recalls the deaths some months ago of farmer Rafael Montolio Fernandez and plantation owner Antonio Cruz attributed to Haitians who attempted robbery. He also commented on the case against Haitian Tafo Jean-Pierre, a 22 year old who was detained on 14 September and lynched by an enraged mob that alleged the Haitian was caught stealing 13 cows. Martinez also comments on kidnappings of Dominicans by Haitians that have occurred in recent months and have also not reached the judiciary.
Congressman Pelegrin Castillo urges that the international community desist from ignoring the potential “Kozovization” of the frontier. He says that the time to act is now when the situation can be controlled and not when matters worsen and become more violent. He says the border situation is a matter of international security. He also comments that the day that there is a regime change in Cuba it is possible that drug smuggling will intensify, going in the direction of Cuba as well as that of Puerto Rico to reach the continental USA.