President Luis Abinader ordered adopting the measure last Wednesday with the purpose of stopping the excavation by Haitians of a canal to divert water from the Massacre River -which both nations share- and also capture the Haitian refugees who participated in a quadruple homicide.
The President pointed out that the opening of the border will depend on the results achieved in those two directions.
Diario Libre reported that the meeting held on Thursday between authorities of the two countries to try to stop the construction of the canal ended without agreements.
Luma Demetrius, mayor of the Haitian city of Juana Méndez, explained at the end of the meeting they found out that the work is not feasible because it violates “technical details”, but considered that its construction is legal.
The Dominican Foreign Minister, Roberto Álvarez, stated earlier this week that the channel violates the Treaty of Peace and Perpetual Friendship and Arbitration of 1929, the Border Agreement of 1935 and the Border Review Protocol of 1936, and pointed out that the border between the two countries is final and immovable.
A communiqué from the local foreign ministry stated that the project has the apparent intention of channeling the water with the purpose of selling it privately to Haitian farmers, without having the official authorization of the Government of the Dominican Republic.
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