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🇵🇾 Paraguay /Conflict & Security

Dominican Republic builds new Haiti border fence to curb smuggling

From ABC Color · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

Newswire From a news agency Ongoing story
  • The Dominican Republic began building a 14.5-kilometer fence along its southern border with Haiti, including six watchtowers, 35 culverts and a total height of 13 feet.
  • The project in Hoya de Enriquillo, Independence province, aims to combat smuggling, improve military patrols and organize cross-border trade.
  • The work forms part of the government’s “Strong Border” strategy, which includes fencing, solar lighting, fiber optics, smart cameras, drones and the deployment of about 11,000 soldiers.

The Dominican Republic has begun building a 14.5-kilometer perimeter fence in Hoya de Enriquillo, in the southern province of Independence, one of the most important points along the border with Haiti. The structure will stand 13 feet, or 3.9 meters, high and include six watchtowers and 35 culverts.

The Defense Ministry said the project will reinforce the fight against smuggling and other illicit activities in an area that has challenged authorities for decades because of attempts to move goods irregularly across the border. Independence province also hosts one of the main binational markets between the two countries.

The new infrastructure will include patrol roads with a combined width of seven meters on both sides of the fence. Authorities say those roads will strengthen surveillance, improve military mobility and allow a “faster and more effective” response to situations that could threaten security in the area.

faster and more effective

· Dominican Ministry of DefenseThe ministry used the phrase to describe the response the patrol roads should enable during security incidents along the border.

The construction is part of the second stage of the Dominican Republic’s border fencing program. Similar sections have already been built in Jimaní, and the wider project falls under “Strong Border,” a government strategy focused on security, infrastructure and development in the border region. The Defense Ministry says the plan combines military deployments, technology, surveillance, mobility and coordination among institutions to maintain “effective and permanent” control of Dominican territory and create better conditions for border communities.

The government says it has built about 55 kilometers of fencing, including 38 kilometers along the northern border and additional sections in Elías Piña, Independence and Pedernales. Defense Minister Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre said the project also includes 1,500 solar lights, fiber-optic connections, smart cameras and a drone network operated from the ministry’s control center. About 11,000 soldiers are deployed along the various defense lines. Since October 2024, the government has also pursued deportations aimed at repatriating 10,000 Haitians per week. Official figures show that 250,429 undocumented Haitians were deported between January and July this year.

effective and permanent

· Dominican Ministry of DefenseThe ministry said the broader border strategy seeks to maintain this level of territorial control.
About this summary

Originally published by ABC Color in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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