Migration detains 113 Haitians accused of environmental crimes in protected areas

Santo Domingo.- Dominican authorities detained 113 Haitian nationals in irregular migratory status during a multi-agency operation targeting environmental crimes in protected areas across the country.

According to the General Directorate of Migration (DGM), those arrested face legal proceedings after allegedly engaging in illegal logging, slash-and-burn farming, unauthorized land occupation and illegal fishing within national parks and protected natural areas.

The joint operation involved the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, the National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA), the Dominican Army, the Dominican Air Force, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office for Environmental Crimes.

The arrests were made in several protected areas, including Valle Nuevo, José del Carmen Ramírez, José Armando Bermúdez, La Humeadora, Sierra de Bahoruco and Los Haitises national parks, as well as the Pico Diego de Ocampo and Saltos de la Tinaja natural monuments.

Authorities also seized five vehicles, dismantled 11 makeshift shelters and 19 illegal farm plots, recovered 496 acres of occupied land, confiscated 71 tools and impounded 54 animals during the operation, which covered multiple provinces as part of efforts to protect the country’s strategic ecosystems.