WThe Dominican Republic wants to close its border with Haiti because of a dispute over the use of a river. From 6 a.m. (local time) on Friday, the border will remain closed by land, sea and air, Dominican President Luis Abinader announced on Thursday. He did not give an end date for the measure. Because work was underway on an irrigation canal on the Haitian side of the Dajabón River, which is also called Río Masacre and forms part of the border, Abinader had threatened to take the step in recent days.
But talks with the neighboring country continued, emphasized the 56-year-old centrist politician. However, Haiti’s government is having problems maintaining control of its territory.
The two countries share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. An agreement from 1929 regulates the sharing of the border river. According to Abinader’s government, the canal in Haiti violates this and other border agreements by diverting river water.
The Dominican Republic is a popular vacation destination. In Haiti, on the other hand, there is political chaos and brutal violence by various gangs, which, according to UN estimates, control 80 percent of the capital Port-au-Prince. According to the United Nations, almost half of Haiti’s eleven million residents suffer from acute hunger.
It is estimated that at least half a million Haitians live in the neighboring country, which also has a total of around eleven million people. Dominican Republic authorities deport thousands of them every month. The Dominican government has been building a wall along the approximately 400 kilometer long land border since last year.
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