At 6 a.m., Friday, September 15, the border between Haiti and the Dominican Republic became watertight. The four official crossing points located along this 376 kilometer line which winds from north to south of the island of Hispaniola are now impassable, as are the maritime and air borders between these two Caribbean countries populated by 11 million people. ‘inhabitants each.
The Dominican President, Luis Abinader, announced the imminent entry into force of this drastic measure during the day of Thursday, after the expiration of a forty-eight hour ultimatum sent Monday to the Haitian government to demand the cessation of work construction of a canal along a border watercourse. At the end of an unsuccessful bilateral meeting in Santo Domingo, the Head of State “affirmed that the border would remain closed as long as necessary to put an end to this provocative act”, indicated the presidency in a press release. Nevertheless, add the Dominican authorities, “talks continue with the Haitian government”.
“The Republic of Haiti will always favor dialogue”responded the latter through a press release from the Ministry of Culture and Communication, in which the executive deplores a “unilateral announcement by the Dominican president” while the negotiations were “in progress and on track”.
The structure would “increase the risk of flooding”
The new bone of contention between the two neighboring nations is a work of modest dimensions: less than 5 kilometers of masonry connecting the banks of the Massacre River to a distribution basin. This will make it possible to irrigate approximately 3,000 hectares of agricultural land in the Haitian department of North-East. The construction of the canal on the left bank of this coastal river, 55 kilometers long, began in 2018, during the presidency of Jovenel Moïse, and caused a first diplomatic crisis with the neighboring country from April 2021. Dominican authorities complained of not having been informed of this work which, according to them, contravened the provisions of the Treaty of Peace, Perpetual Friendship and Arbitration, a 1929 document which prohibits the two countries from diverting border waterways . Furthermore, the structure “would increase the risk of flooding” in the valley of the Massacre River, highlighted the Dominican chancellery.
The assassination of the Haitian president in July of that year put an end to the project and the controversy. But the restart of construction work on this canal in recent weeks has led to a further deterioration in bilateral relations. “It is the Dominican government that violated the peace treaty of February 20, 1929”, wrote on September 3, former Prime Minister Claude Joseph on his X account (formerly Twitter), in response to protests from the Spanish-speaking neighbor. Bluntly denouncing a “discourse fueled by Dominican ultranationalists and racists”the former head of government of Jovenel Moïse accused the neighboring country of having carried out eleven captures along the small river.
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