Haiti - FLASH : Haitian customs destroy Dominican goods from Haitian merchants
Saturday October 28, 2023, the customs authorities of Ounaminthe dug a pit in the area set up in the customs enclosure, with a mechanical excavator, in which they incinerated hundreds of boxes and bags filled with goods and products purchased in Dominican Republic.
The food products, including pasta, rice, eggs, oil, plantains, bananas, canned goods, were seized by these authorities, after being purchased by their compatriots the day before at the border market from Dajabon.
Customs justify themselves by explaining that since products such as energy drinks, clairin, Barbancourt rum, whiskey among others are seized by the Dominican authorities on Dominican territory. They do the same with what enters Haiti... Except that customs forget to say these Haitian products are seized because they are smuggled into the neighboring Republic.
However, these seizures of Dominican products and goods, in addition to increasing food insecurity in Haiti for the poorest on the Northeast border, reinforce smuggling, cause significant financial losses to Haitian buyers who legally acquired these goods, but in no way affect Dominican merchants.
