Can the Dominican Republic protect its tourism from Haiti's gangs?
The most popular tourist destination in the Caribbean, famed for its cloud forests, waterfalls and tropical mangroves, is increasingly worried about about some of the region's worst violence taking place in neighbouring Haiti.
The natural paradise of the Dominican Republic, which welcomed more than 11 million tourists in 2024, has been for years trying to isolate itself from the violence of heavily armed gangs in Haiti.
Now, in an effort to maintain the Dominican Republic's tourism boom, President Luis Abinader has announced that his country would step up security along its border with crisis-ridden Haiti, with which it shares the island of Hispaniola.
Abinader said in a message to the nation on Sunday that some 1,500 extra soldiers would be sent to the approximately 400-kilometre border separating the two countries, bringing the number of those guarding the area from 9,500 to 11,000.
Tourism is one of the most important economic sectors in the Dominican Republic, and Santo Domingo's economy has been one of the fastest growing in Latin America on average for decades.
Hispaniola, the second biggest Caribbean island after Cuba, is the most mountainous of all the Antillies. On the south-western coast, it boasts Lake Enriquillo; the Caribbean's biggest inland lake and, at around 40 metres below sea level, the lowest-lying point on the island. It's a home for exotic creatures including unique native red-eyed iguanas.
In the north east of peninsula Samana, national park Los Haitises is host to mangrove forests, corals, and as many as 5,000 humpback whales which convene there every year from January to March to breed.
Tourists can also travel by boat to the carved-out cave systems in which indigenous Taino people once lived. There's also Ebano Verde National Park, named after its native magnolia, filled with exotic sights and scents.
However the tourism officials now fear news of worsening violence in Haiti could keep visitors from visiting.
US Department of State advises travellers to exercise increased caution in the Dominican Republic. "Violent crime, including armed robbery, homicide, and sexual assault, is a concern throughout the Dominican Republic," the travel advisory reads.
In neighbouring Haiti, gangs now essentially control the capital Port-au-Prince, and violence has resulted in hundreds of thousands of Haitians being displaced in their own country.
Haiti, which like the Dominican Republic has a population of around 11 million, has not had a head of state since the assassination of president Jovenel Moïse in July 2021.
"Haiti is going through the darkest hour in its history," Abinader said, naming the country's security, environmental, political and economic crises.
"And the worst of all crises, the crisis of abandonment, caused by the irresponsible attitude of the international community that has left Haiti to its own devices. We did not cause any of these crises, but they all have consequences that do affect us," he said.
Abinader said his government must prevent "the chaos and insecurity to cross over" from Haiti into the Dominican Republic announcing he would also extend the border wall by some 13 kilometres and crack down on irregular migration from the neighbouring country. In total he announced 15 measures "to protect our country."
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