The Latin American Report # 344

While thousands of residents of Pont-Sondé take refuge as best they can in churches, schools, and public squares in the neighboring coastal city of Saint-Marc, still trying to come to terms with the massacre they were subjected to last week, Haitians, in general, are coping with the strained relationship with the government of Luis Abinader. Arguing that the Dominican Republic was paying a high cost for the humongous humanitarian crisis that has its center in Port-au-Prince, Abinader advanced at the United Nations General Assembly that he would take drastic measures mainly in the migratory dimension.

A Santo Domingo-based Haitian organization denounces that a “manhunt” is underway following the order to deport 10,000 foreigners in an irregular migratory situation. Indeed, Haitians are the main group to which the measure applies. “[The] collective and massive detentions, without the right to defense or an individual evaluation of each case, violate human rights and the national and international legal order,” argues the group #HaitiRD, which also puts the focus back on the actions of Dominican agents against the Haitian population, which has included cases of sexual violence.

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Some Haitian children are being left adrift. “They take their parents, or one of [them], and leave the children who are even in school,” warns an activist about the raids that Dominican security forces are allegedly conducting. An avocado seller well-established in the Dominican Republic says that even Haitian immigrants with their papers in order are exposed to extortion that can involve up to more than 300 dollars to avoid deportation. In the first six days of October, more than 9,000 Haitian nationals were being vetted for potential repatriation.

AP reports here that in the last week, nearly 11,000 Haitians have been deported. Dominican authorities argue that public services are under increasing stress as the country continues to take in Haitians displaced by violence or in search of better economic opportunities there. Defending this point, a Dominican official told a special session of the OAS that 4 out of 10 births in public hospitals were to Haitian women. At the same time, tens of thousands of children are also a major drain on government-run schools.

Bullets

The Peruvian nation continues to live in a particularly tense moment in terms of security, although this social dimension has been cracked for the last few years. At least four people were reported dead after an armed attack on a bus providing informal transport services in Callao on Tuesday. Initial police assessments suggest that it was a settling of scores, while two of the victims were identified as members of a gang dedicated to hired assassination and extortion. Three people were injured.

In Ecuador, where crime has not sufficiently subsided despite the large deployment of police and military after the violence spilled over at the beginning of the year, five people were also massacred on Tuesday. The tragic event occurred in Durán, one of the most violent nodes of the large bloody network that is the province of Guayas, where the coastal city of Guayaquil is also located. Drug trafficking has become a cancer for the Ecuadorian nation, which has metastasized mainly from these coastal provinces. About 225 tons of drugs have been seized this year, about 30% more than in 2023 at this time.

_{Curious onlookers watch as experts work with one of the bodies left by the latest massacre in Durán, Guayas province, Ecuador (source).}

So?

Big report on this from AP

And this is all for our report today. I have referenced the sources dynamically in the text, and remember you can learn how and where to follow the LATAM trail news by reading my work here. Have a nice day.