Dominican government orders closure of Haitian border and to stop issuing visas to Haitians citizens

Dominican President Luis Abinader implemented a series of measures in response to the conflict generated by the construction of the canal in the Massacre River carried out by Haitians.

The first measure is to maintain the total closure of the border at Dajabón, and if the conflict continues by Thursday, to completely close the border for land, maritime, and air trade.

Presidential spokesperson, Homero Figueroa, announced these measures following the meeting of the National Security Council led by President Abinader.

These are the measures taken by the President on Monday morning. 

- Indefinitely suspend the entry of all of those involved in the conflict and stop issuing visas to Haitian citizens until further notice.

-Maintain the total closure of the border at Dajabón, and if the conflict is not solved by Thursday, close the border completely for land, maritime, and air trade.

-Reactivate the Customs checkpoint at the Dajabón River, at the beginning of La Vigía canal, as a short-term measure to ensure water supply to Dominican producers.

-Start the construction process of the Don Miguel dam project as a long-term definitive solution. The design of this project started last year, and it is estimated that it will take around 30 months, with an average cost of 2.7 billion Dominican pesos. The bidding process will begin immediately.

-Request a bilateral meeting of the binational water bureaus to agree on a definitive solution.