The international community lags far behind in analyzing the situation in Haiti compared to the President of the Dominican Republic
Haiti is experiencing an increase in violence caused by the growing control that criminal gangs have over the country. These are not political issues; they are facts that are affecting people’s lives and well-being.
The assault on the civil prison in Port-au-Prince, which led to the escape of 3,600 dangerous inmates and the subsequent wave of violence, demonstrated the warnings that Luis Abinader has been making practically since the beginning of his presidency.
Since August 2020, in the midst of the pandemic, the President of the Dominican Republic has dedicated a significant part of his international agenda to calling for action in Haiti, aiming to return one of the poorest countries on the planet to a path where rights and freedoms are respected, a path that will lead to increased prosperity for its citizens.
However, despite the seriousness of the situation, the international community is far behind in its analysis and understanding of the situation in Haiti compared to Luis Abinader. This passivity is having extremely serious consequences, as demonstrated by the facts.
It took three years for the UN to react and, through the Security Council, to address the demands that Luis Abinader made in any international forum he participated in since August 2020. The last time the Dominican president participated in a global meeting was on February 14, at the United Nations headquarters in New York.
After the explosion of violence in Haiti last weekend, Abinader stated that his government had warned the international community that this situation was imminent. However, “some, both internationally and locally, accused us of it being political issues, but the truth is that the situation worsened faster than we expected,” said the Dominican president.
In other words, once again, the international community lags far behind in Abinader’s analysis of the situation, and this is having consequences for the Haitian people.
However, despite the lack of response from world powers, Abinader has not stood idly by. He has enough information and knowledge to know that the Dominican Republic cannot be infected with global passivity. It has to act in defense of the interests of the Dominican people. While others focus on conspiracy theories and chivalric fantasies, President Abinader and his government act, especially the security forces.
Even if the international community did not take Abinader’s warnings into account, the Dominican government was acting to be able to face any situation or consequence of the crisis in Port-au-Prince.
“We had prepared for this situation with Haiti and notice that in the Dominican Republic, over all these years, the gangs have not crossed into Dominican territory because they know what can happen to them if they do, they are aware, now more than ever, and the same goes for the other criminals who were in prison,” Abinader affirmed.
The Dominican president also made it clear that “security agencies are on alert due to the situation in Haiti, we are taking all measures to maintain the level of peace and control we have on our border. Remember what we said here that the border will not be the same. Since the October crisis, our consulates have not issued visas in Haiti. There is really no normal passage. Today, passage to markets was allowed, but it is regulated and they cannot enter the country anymore, and we have a control issue that has been quite effective in recent months; also, remember that no one can enter without having their biometric data taken.”
– MANUEL DOMÍNGUEZ MORENO
