On Tuesday morning, incidents were reported between the Dominican military and Haitians in Dajabón because of the militarization of gas stations, while Haitian motorists on the side of Ounaminthe, in protest blocked the traffic on the bridge separating the two countries.

The incidents occurred when Haitians threw stones at soldiers, who responded by firing in the air to disperse angry protesters who were unable to obtain supplies freely at will.

This has had the effect of significantly reducing the fuel supply capacity and cutting off a major source of income for Haitians. Indeed, they bought the gallon of gasoline on the Dominican territory around 200 pesos (± 324 Gourdes) and the gallon of diesel around 185 pesos (± 300 Gourdes) to resell illegally in Haiti respectively 700 and 550 Gourdes because of the fuel shortage aggravated by the demonstrations.

Remember that before this measure Haitians crossed the border every day with vehicles with large tanks and containers, which they filled in the Dominican petrol stations before returning to Haiti, a very lucrative market but also a transport of dangerous fuels.

As a result of this traffic, long queues at gas stations making access difficult for Dominican residents...

However, this measure benefits Dominican smugglers who sell clandestinely through the mountain oil products to Haitians...

SL/ HaitiLibre