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The border between the two countries had been closed since September 15.
Haitian authorities on Wednesday refused to reopen their side of the border with the Dominican Republic for commercial activities as planned.
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Haitian authorities decided to keep their border closed after previously agreeing to reopen it. They thus make it impossible for their citizens to enter Dominican territory.
Elio Uceta, of the General Directorate of Migration, met with Haitian authorities to inform them of the limited reopening of the border, allowing only commercial activities under heavy security controls.
The Dominican Republic planned to reopen the temporary commercial corridors this Wednesday, in order to allow Haitians to buy basic products such as food and medicines.
A las 9:40 de la mañana abrieron las puertas del lado dominicano en la frontera con Haití en Dajabón, sin embargo, el lado haitiano mantenía sus puertas cerradas, para el primer día de intercambio comercial luego que Santo Domingo ordenó su cierre el viernes 15 de septiembre… pic.twitter.com/zS4rAumYgh
— LISTÍN DIARIO (@ListinDiario) October 11, 2023
The tweet reads, "At 9:40 in the morning, the gates opened on the Dominican side of the border with Haiti in Dajabón, however, the Haitian side kept its gates closed for the first day of commercial exchange after Santo Domingo ordered its closure on Friday, September 15."
The reopening of the border crossing, scheduled for 8:00 local time, was delayed for almost two hours due to a fire that broke out early this morning in the binational market of Dajabón. The fire, in which firefighters from nearby areas immediately responded, caused significant material losses with no casualties.
The Dominican government announced on Monday that "commercial corridors" with "strict military control measures and obligatory biometric registration" will operate in the provinces of Dajabón, Elías Piña, Independencia and Pedernales, bordering Haiti.
According to Dominican President Luis Abinader, the export of electronic products, cement, rebar and other construction materials wiould not be allowed to prevent the construction of structures such as the canal on the Haitian side of the Masacre River.
This canal, which is intended to divert water from the border river into Haitian territory, has caused a conflict between the two countries and the closure of the border since September 15.
In the midst of this situation, the Dominican government has decided to maintain closed the migratory passage between both countries, not to issue visas to Haitian citizens and to give way to the mechanization of agricultural processes in order to stop depending on Haitian labor.
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