Spanish
Santo Domingo.- President Luis Abinader stated this Monday that the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, is "concerned" about the situation in Haiti and that the United States is "advancing" in the pacification process in that country.
In his usual Monday meeting with the media, the ruler said that he has "excellent" relations with Rubio and reiterated that the international community has abandoned Haiti in recent years.
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"Secretary Rubio has expressed his country's interest in contributing to the pacification of Haiti. Sometimes governments are held back due to bureaucracy, but we recently spoke and I noticed he was concerned about the Haitian situation," Abinader indicated.
On May 7, the president and Rubio were recognized by a private organization for different reasons during an event in Washington and, "obviously, we met that night and talked about the Haitian issue," Abinader added.
Upon his return from the U.S. capital, the president reiterated the need for greater international intervention to curb the deterioration of security in the neighboring country and insisted that the international community must act firmly to prevent Haitian instability from continuing to spill over into the region.
Rubio, according to an official Dominican statement, agreed on the importance of a coordinated and supportive response from allied countries, highlighting the role of the Dominican Republic as a key player in the region.
In Haiti, armed gangs operate, occupying practically 85% of the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince and have expanded to other areas.
Armed groups sow terror with all kinds of crimes and their power has not been diminished, despite the Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) operating in Haiti under Kenyan leadership and with the endorsement of the United Nations.
Last Wednesday, Abinader led a meeting with former presidents Hipólito Mejía, Leonel Fernández, and Danilo Medina, in which the situation of instability in Haiti was discussed, and they agreed that this represents a "threat" not only to the Haitian population, but also to the entire region, especially to the Dominican Republic.
The four reaffirmed the "need" to apply the immigration law with "firmness" and respect for human rights through the operations of arrest and deportation of undocumented Haitians, according to an official document.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a border of almost 400 kilometers, and hundreds of thousands of Haitians reside in the latter country, most of them in an irregular migratory status.
The Dominican government ordered a massive deportation program in October and has strengthened border controls with a fence it is building on the border, the use of advanced technology equipment, and the deployment of thousands of troops.
Likewise, it has toughened measures internally with decisions such as deporting undocumented Haitians who go to hospitals and other public health centers once they have been treated.
In the first three months of the year, 1,617 people died and another 580 were injured due to violence involving armed gangs, self-defense groups and unorganized members of the population, as well as operations by security forces, according to data from the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti (Binuh).
In 2024, violence in Haiti caused at least 5,626 deaths (a thousand more than the previous year), 2,213 injuries, and 1,494 kidnappings, according to data verified by the UN, in a country with more than a million displaced people having to abandon their homes due to insecurity.
