Haiti.- The Haitian perspective on the incident that occurred on the border this Tuesday, near the construction zone of the border wall in Dajabón, portrays Dominican soldiers as the aggressors who forcibly crossed the border line, provoking the indignation of the residents of Juana Méndez.
According to the Haitian newspaper Le Nouvelliste, the incident unfolded when “Dominican soldiers in their vehicles invaded Haitian soil. Outraged, the local population responded by setting up barricades and burning tires to hinder the soldiers’ advance in the area. In response to this Haitian reaction, the Dominican soldiers allegedly removed the barricades and pointed their weapons at the Haitian citizens.”
The newspaper highlights that the incident occurred in the vicinity of an irrigation canal under construction, an area that has been a source of tension and controversy between both countries. However, it does not emphasize what the videos of the confrontation reveal, which indicate that the barricades were placed within Dominican territory, defined by border pyramids, instead of the defense fence being built on the other side of the border.
On the Dominican side, the government considers a provocation the incident that involved a group of Haitians who entered Dominican territory to obstruct the patrol of the Army of the Dominican Republic on the road near the perimeter fence in the border area. The government characterized this action as an attempt to provoke a conflict with unpredictable consequences that could worsen relations between the two nations. The Dominican Republic has called for an immediate end to such violations.
Haitian citizens claim that property adjacent to the Dominican border wall belongs to their nation, adding to the complexities of this border dispute.