Santo Domingo.- Members of the Haitian National Border Police (Polifront) reportedly used gunshots and tear gas to prevent the holding of an informal market between Haitians and Dominicans on the border. This action aimed to prevent Haitians from purchasing Dominican products, which are prohibited in Haiti. Additionally, Haiti has introduced measures that impose high fines on those who introduce merchandise from the Dominican Republic.
The presence of the Haitian police caused Haitians to flee towards Dominican territory to avoid arrest, although Polifront agents later asked the crowd to return to their country. Fortunately, there were no reported injuries from the shots fired by the Haitian police.
Haitian authorities have stated that seized assets will be destroyed or sold at public auction, and detained vehicles will only be returned to their owners upon the payment of a fine, ranging from 50,000.00 to 500,000.00 gourdes, depending on the classification of the crime.
In response to these measures, migration operations have intensified in the provinces bordering Haiti, with the Specialized Land Border Security Corps (Cescront) conducting search and capture operations for undocumented Haitians. These operations have led to the detention of numerous Haitians who were headed for various provinces in the Dominican Republic.