Santo Domingo – In a landmark announcement broadcast during the weekly public affairs program *LA Agenda Semanal* on Monday, Dominican Republic Defense Minister Lt. Gen. Carlos Fernández Onofre unveiled a sweeping, unprecedented border security overhaul that positions 11,000 active-duty soldiers across the nation’s entire frontier with neighboring Haiti, marking the most aggressive military strengthening campaign in the country’s recent history.
Fernández Onofre outlined that the enhanced security framework extends far beyond ground troop deployments, covering the full spectrum of Dominican territorial boundaries including land, maritime, and airspace. A core component of the upgrade is the ongoing rollout of a high-tech intelligent border barrier system: 54.5 kilometers of the smart fence network are already fully operational, with an additional 13 kilometers under active construction and a separate 14-kilometer segment slated for deployment in the border town of Jimaní. Government officials have also confirmed that a 38-kilometer continuous fortified wall stretching from Manzanillo to Capotillo will be officially inaugurated this coming December.
The integrated border surveillance ecosystem is built with cutting-edge, self-sustaining infrastructure including solar-powered perimeter lighting, dedicated fiber-optic data networks directly linked to the Ministry of Defense’s state-of-the-art C5i command and control hub, AI-enabled smart monitoring cameras, fixed-wing surveillance aircraft, coastal naval patrol units, and long-range autonomous drones. According to performance data shared by the minister, the layered technological network delivers uninterrupted 24/7 monitoring coverage and successfully detects over 90% of cross-border illicit activities ranging from unauthorized trafficking to unregulated border crossings.
Complementing the border-focused upgrades, the national Armed Forces have completed a sweeping equipment modernization drive over the past six years, adding more than 1,400 new vehicles to its fleet. The expanded inventory includes 21 Uro Vamtac armored tactical vehicles, heavy-duty logistics trucks, specialized border patrol units, and a suite of mission-specific security hardware. Parallel to these acquisitions, the Defense Ministry is overseeing 32 separate military infrastructure projects spanning the stretch of territory from Montecristi to Cabo Rojo, most notably the construction of the new Third Battalion of the Seventh Brigade in Puerto Plata, and the full expansion of the existing Montecristi military company to full battalion status.
“Never in the history of our nation has the entire length of our border been secured with the level of manpower, technology, and infrastructure we have in place today,” Fernández Onofre emphasized, framing the initiative as a critical step to safeguard national sovereignty, public safety, and territorial integrity.