ARTICLE - VIOLENCE FLARES AT BORDER

VIOLENCE FLARES AT BORDER PASS, TRUCKERS BLAME HAITI POLICE
(Dominican Today) -

JIMANI - A group of trucks loaded with merchandise from the Dominican Republic halted traffic to Haiti at the border town of Mal Paso, Independencia province Thursday, which also forced the closing of commerce in the Haiti community Fond Parisien.

Merchants in the region around Jimani said the truckers blocked the routes as part of the ongoing violent incidents with Haiti’s authorities, who are accused of police brutality, and the confiscation and disassembly of their trucks.

“We go to the other side to take them merchandise, not to look for them. The other day a problem occurred in Fond Parisién with one being injured by a gunshot, the trucks had their tires removed, and that kind of thing,” said the trucker Francisco Tejada to the press.

The truck and bus drivers say they feel alone, looking at bullets and death, and that the Dominican authorities aren’t dealing with the situation.

“We send buses over there and their front tires were exploded. This situation is going to be solved one way or another,” said Maximo Garcia, owner of several buses, who added that no one is safe from being attacked. “The fact is that nothing is certain in Mal Paso since the situation considerably affects the bi-national market, halting business in the entire Independence province and adjacent zones.”