A Customs guard shot ¨accidentally¨ with his regulation weapon, and a Haitian national died after both had a struggle during the development of the binational market in Pedernales.
Immediately, taxpayers and merchants left their merchandise abandoned, while some looting took place by unscrupulous people who took advantage of the circumstances.
The inhabitants of Pedernales, including ex-military personnel, protested after understanding that the law enforcement agents are not prepared to face situations like this.
They claim that dozens of CESFRONT agents allegedly appeared without weapons and hid behind buildings without any action to defend national sovereignty.
The shots were heard from the Haitian side to this side of the island because they did not accept that their compatriot was dead.
Members of the Army, reinforcements from CESFRONT, the Police, and the Dominican Navy, as well as members of S-2 and DICRIM and other State agencies, were present at the scene of the tragedy.
In addition to the public prosecutor and a police commission of the public prosecutor’s office.
Details of the confrontation between Dominicans and Haitians in Pedernales
The Directorate General of Customs (DGA) informed about the incident registered today between one of its collaborators and Haitian nationals in the administration of the Pedernales province near the Anse-a-Pitre border crossing.
The incident broke out after the guard of our institution asked for the corresponding documents for the payment of the taxes of the merchandise that would cross into the country.
One of the Haitian nationals refused to show the invoices and permits that gave the legality of an electric plant that he was transporting with him and that he intended to take to the other side of the island, which caused a brief argument, and this was taken advantage of by his Haitian companions. They cornered him to take away the shotgun he was carrying.
In the struggle between the Dominican and the Haitians, the shotgun was fired, leaving one of them dead, and his companions fled with the guard’s regulation weapon.
After the incident, in coordination with Migration and members of the Specialized Border Security Corps (Cesfront), the protocol was activated, closing the border to safeguard the integrity of the Dominicans and collaborators of the DGA in case of any threat.
This unfortunate situation triggered a group of Haitian and Dominican motoconchistas to clash with shots and stones due to old quarrels and conflicts of interest over the control of this informal activity in the area. (https://dominicantoday.com/dr/local/2022/08/05/details-of-the-confrontation-between-dominicans-and-haitians-in-pedernales/)
