Dominican president advises nationals against traveling to Haiti due to crisis

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – “We have advised Dominicans against going to Haiti, that there is no safety, they should not go,” the ruler told the press.

The Dominican Republic has reinforced its border with Haiti “so that violence will not pass, and it has not,” Abinader assured, stressing that he remains in contact “with the international community” regarding the events in that nation.

With respect to 2 Dominican truckers recently kidnapped in Haiti, Abinader stressed that the government is coordinating with the country’s consular authorities in Haiti to secure the release of the 2 men.

In Haiti, plunged in a severe political and social crisis, 455 kidnappings have been reported this year, mostly in capital Port-au-Prince, with the majority of victims being Haitian nationals.

The surge in kidnappings occurs amidst a context of gang-related street violence in and around Port-au-Prince.

The latest reported kidnapping is that of 17 people, a group of American missionaries and their families, taken on October 16 while returning from an orphanage on the capital’s outskirts, an event that apparently triggered the resignation of National Police chief Léon Charles.

Although no official information has been provided on the case, government sources have confirmed to the media that the 400 Mawozo gang is holding them and demanding a US$17 million ransom for the group.