Abinader: “We are not going to give even 250 pesos” for kidnapped official

Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader revealed Monday that the Dominican Republic mobilized special forces in 2022 to prepare for the rescue of Carlos Guillén Tatis, an agricultural adviser at the Dominican Embassy in Haiti who had been kidnapped by a criminal gang demanding a US$250,000 ransom.

“We are not going to give even 250 pesos,” Abinader recalled during his Weekly Agenda program.

The president said he contacted then-Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry and proposed a joint rescue operation, with Haiti’s authorization, if Guillén Tatis was not released. Dominican authorities had located the official and prepared special forces to intervene, but the operation was ultimately not needed after he was released within a 24-hour deadline.

Abinader cited the case while explaining his support for Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele over the recent disappearance of four Salvadoran citizens in Haiti. He also recalled other kidnappings involving Dominican nationals.

In 2021, two Dominican film production workers were kidnapped in Haiti. Abinader said he contacted then-President Jovenel Moïse, and the two were eventually released following interventions by Haitian authorities.

He also recalled the case of a Dominican bus driver who was released after his kidnappers learned he was Dominican.

Abinader said these cases demonstrate that his administration has maintained a firm position against paying ransoms while being prepared to take action to protect Dominican citizens abroad.