Santo Domingo – In official remarks delivered during the weekly government coordination meeting held at the National Palace on Monday, Dominican Republic President Luis Abinader publicly reassured the public that the ongoing security and governance crisis in neighboring Haiti has not spilled over into Dominican national territory.
Abinader drew a clear distinction between the current volatile climate in Haiti and past episodes of instability in the country, noting that unlike previous eras when no coordinated international military presence was deployed to rein in violent armed gangs, global intervention forces are now actively engaged in containing criminal group operations across Haiti.
The head of state emphasized that no armed gang elements have crossed into Dominican sovereign territory to date, and reaffirmed his administration’s unwavering commitment to rolling out targeted, proactive security measures to block any potential cross-border incursion attempts in the future.
Abinader specifically highlighted the significant upgrades to the operational capabilities, equipment, and rapid response frameworks of the Dominican Armed Forces in recent months, stating that the military is far better positioned than ever before to address any emerging security threats along the 392-kilometer shared border.
Offering additional context on recent developments on the Haitian side of the frontier, the president disclosed that at least two community self-defense factions are now operating near the border, and have successfully pushed back gang incursion attempts along the high-traffic Comendador-Belladère cross-border route. As a core pillar of the Dominican Republic’s formal national security strategy, Abinader reiterated that the government will enforce a strict buffer zone policy that prohibits any armed gang presence within 20 kilometers of Dominican sovereign territory.
Abinader says Haiti gangs have not crossed into Dominican Republic
