The president of the Republic, Louis Abinaderleft formally initiated in Dajabón, the construction works of a perimeter wall or fence, a work whose investment will be 1,750 million pesos.
The first stage will be 54 kilometers long, made of reinforced concrete and a metal structure, it will have 19 surveillance and control towers, 10 access gates for patrolling, and 54 kilometers of roads for surveillance and maintenance on both sides.
The promise he made in his speech on February 27, 2021, this Sunday following almost a year, following months of public tenders and technical studies, became a fact, when Abinader opened a concrete mixer truck, the discharge of said material. This first stage of the so-called “intelligent fence” would be completed in the first half of this year, according to a contractor.
For the second stage, the president said that the public bidding process has begun and would begin following the first stage is ready, this includes the placement of technology to make it intelligent, it entails the installation of motion and thermal sensors, security cameras, security, high-capacity military-type drones, among other features.
The work, explained the president, will allow the Dominican State to guarantee the capacities to combat more effectively the control of the migratory flow of undocumented immigrants to the territory, prevent drug trafficking, weapons, smuggling and other illicit acts. “This fence will benefit both countries,” he noted.
It will have an extension of 173 kilometers, out of a total of 391.6 kilometers that constitutes the border line between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, as established by the treaties signed in 1929 and 1936. It will be placed at all border crossings, starting from Montecristi, Dajabón, Elias Pineapple, Pedernales and Independence.
Abinader announced that this week, an advanced biometric control system will be installedfor the registration of people who enter the country through regulated border crossings, including the Las Américas Airport.
The system was designed by the German company Dermalog, and uses the ABIS program as a tool, which combines fingerprints with photographs, allowing a person’s identity to be established with a minimum margin of error, in addition to recording demographic data (names, documents and location, among others). These data will be sent to the DNI with due respect for the privacy of citizens.
Abinader reiterated the failed state that constitutes Haiti, where a large part of its territory is controlled by criminal gangs, a situation that worsened even more with the assassination of its own president, Jovenel Moise.
He added that the solution to Haiti merits the efforts and collaboration of France, the US, Canada, and the international community in general. “He reiterated my call to the United Nations, and the great nations of the world, to come to the rescue of Haiti, “we will maintain good relations of friendship, in protection of the frontera and trade relations between the two countries”, the president said.
Likewise, regarding the political and social instability, the economic and food crisis, of the neighboring nation, he expressed that the Dominican people have always been in solidarity with the Haitian people, more however, “we cannot take charge of the internal politics of that country nor solve their problems”. He added that the government wants Haiti to recover its territory held by criminal gangs and to manage free and sovereign elections.
Minister of Defense
Speaking to those present in Dajabón, the Minister of Defense, Lieutenant General Carlos Luciano Díaz Morfa, described the beginning of the work as “the most transcendental in terms of security in the entire frontera” and that it honors the memory of the fathers of the country.
“This work was ordered under presidential decree 276-21, which declared the construction of the intelligent fence in the border area to be an emergency, and is also protected by article 10 of our Magna Carta,” said the military official.
Governor of Dajabon
The provincial governor of the Dajabón province, Rosalba Milagros Peña, also spoke at the event. “The border inhabitants longed for the start of this work, which will mark the beginning of better security for all,” she said.
Views on the fence
The former deputy and former Minister of Energy and Mines, Pelegrín Castillo, who has always expressed different opinions on the Haitian problem, assured that the beginning of the work sends a strong message to the international community, which understands that it must intervene for the improvement and stability of the neighboring country.
“It sends a powerful message because it has great popular support, it is a step of historical responsibility,” Castle said.
The former Secretary of the Armed Forces, retired Major General, José Miguel Soto Jiménez, also gave the following opinion: “That wall is a monument to hundreds of Dominicans, entire generations who, from very early times, have given their lives, so that this may be the limits of sovereignty.
The work was blessed by the priest Diomedes Espinal.
