Dominican president suspends visas for Haitians and threatens to close border with its neighbor

By MARTÍN ADAMES ALCÁNTARA
Associated Press

SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The president of the Dominican Republic says he has suspended issuing visas to Haitians, and he is threatening to shut down land, air and sea traffic between the two neighbors over their latest dispute. The measures announced Monday by President Luis Abinader follow the recent excavation of a supposed canal in Haiti that Dominican officials argue will divert water from the shared Massacre River and harm its farmers and the environment. Abinader says if the dispute isn’t settled by Thursday, he will stop all commercial traffice between the two nations. That would be a economic blow to Haiti, where inflation has skyrocketed and poverty deepened amid a surge in gang violence.