U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gives a press conference at the end of his one-day visit to Haiti, at the Toussaint Louverture International Airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. (Roberto Schmidt/Pool photo via AP)
SANTO DOMINGO, Dominican Republic (AP) — The U.S. secretary of state and the leader of the Dominican Republic held private talks Friday on a range of issues, from human rights, economic prosperity and regional security. However, the crisis in violence-wrecked Haiti dominated the discussions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in the Dominican Republic for a one-day visit to support a U.N.-backed mission led by Kenya to fight rampaging gangs there.
Blinken said he spoke with Dominican President Luis Abinader about the latter's concerns regarding Haiti, which shares the island of Hispaniola with the Dominican Republic.
Abinader told reporters that his administration is concerned over the apparent lack of resources for the mission and the thousands of inmates who escaped after gangs raided Haiti’s two biggest prisons earlier this year .
Haiti’s crisis has caused a surge in migrants trying to enter the Dominican Republic, Abinader said, adding that they’re overwhelming schools and hospitals.
for its treatment of Haitian migrants and those born in the Dominican Republic to Haitian parents. The and is building a wall along the border between the two countries.
Blinken said the United States has seen some improvement in Haiti in recent months to crack down on gangs that control 80% of the capital of Port-au-Prince.
“The foundation for progress in Haiti has to be security,†Blinken said. “This has to be something that the authorities, the state and ultimately the Haitian people control, not the gangs.â€
Both Blinken and Abinader said they are pushing to normalize relations between the Dominican Republic and its neighbor.
“We have a strong interest in trying to help Haiti succeed,†Blinken said.
Blinken noted that the Dominican Republic has the largest economy in the Caribbean and one of the fastest growing in Latin America. In a boost to that growth, Blinken announced the first phase of a $3 million supply-chain investment via USAID to improve workforce training and build industrial parks in the Caribbean country.
On Thursday, Blinken announced an additional $45 million in humanitarian assistance for Haiti and said he supported creating a as a way to secure funding and resources for fighting the gangs and restoring security to Haiti.
Blinken is expected to return to the U.S. late Friday.
¹ú²úÓÕ»ó¸£Àû. All rights reserved.
For many Indigenous communities, access to financial services and economic opportu…
Trust in international money transfers has long been tied to physical places: a ba…
Sorry, an error occurred.
Already Subscribed!
Cancel anytime
Thank you .
Your account has been registered, and you are now logged in.
Check your email for details.
Submitting this form below will send a message to your email with a link to change your password.
An email message containing instructions on how to reset your password has been sent to the email address listed on your account.
No promotional rates found.
Secure & Encrypted
Thank you.
Your gift purchase was successful! Your purchase was successful, and you are now logged in.
| Rate: | |
| Tax: | |
| Today's total: | |
| Begins: | |
| Transaction ID: |
A receipt was sent to your email.
