The ministry posted a statement on its Facebook account, saying: “The Haitian Ministry of Foreign Affairs expresses its deep concern over the discriminatory statements made by American politicians against our citizens, especially those living in Springfield, Ohio.”
“Unfortunately, this is not the first time that our citizens abroad have fallen victim to public disinformation campaigns, stigmatization and dehumanization to serve political purposes ahead of elections,” the statement added.
Despite the clear reference to the claim that Haitians steal and eat pets in the United States, the politicians responsible for spreading these words were not directly named.
During his first presidential debate with his rival, Vice President Kamala Harris, which aired on ABC News, former US President Donald Trump repeated a claim that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were “stealing dogs and cats and eating them.”
“In Springfield, they eat the dogs, the people who come in, they eat the cats, they eat the pets of the people who live here,” Trump said.
This claim has been promoted by several prominent Republicans in the past week, including Republican vice presidential nominee Senator J.D. Vance.
For its part, the city of Springfield and local police said they had seen no evidence for the claim, which appears to have come from a Facebook post by someone claiming to be a resident who said it was a story about their neighbor’s daughter’s girlfriend.
Vance admitted on social media Tuesday that “the rumors he heard from locals are likely false.”
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