Abinader claims that the Dominican Republic is "prepared for any instability" in Haiti.

The Dominican Republic is "prepared for any situation of instability" in Haiti, said the president, Luis Abinader, in response to former Haitian rebel leader Guy Philippe's calls for a revolution to depose Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

"We are monitoring the situation in Haiti, and we are prepared for any situation of instability, which is not new in Haiti; it has been a constant in these two and a half years," Abinader stated in his weekly press conference, La Semanal.

He stated that the Dominican authorities hold weekly meetings to discuss the situation in their neighboring country.

Abinader was questioned about this matter with less than two days until February 7, the date on which Haitian presidents customarily take office, despite the country's lack of a head of state since Jovenel Moise's assassination in 2021 and Henry as its highest authority.

There are protests and calls for Henry to step down in Haiti, which is in the midst of a major crisis at all levels and a spiral of violence with thousands of fatalities at the hands of armed gangs who have gained control of Port-au-Prince and other locations.

At Monday's press conference, Abinader was also asked about the crisis between the two countries caused by Haiti's construction of a canal on the bordering Masacre River (Dajabón for Dominicans), which resulted in the adoption of various measures, including the closure of Dominican borders, which has since been lifted.

Meetings between Dominican and Haitian authorities resumed in January, but, according to Abinader, "nothing has been achieved," because Haiti is failing to comply with the provisions of the Treaty of Peace, Perpetual Friendship, and Arbitration of February 20, 1929, as claimed by the Dominican Republic.

Santo Domingo's response to the disagreement included reactivating the La Vigía canal on the Dominican bank of the Masacre-Dajabón river, upstream of the water intake on the Haitian side that caused the water conflict.

According to Abinader, the La Vigía canal's primary goal is to ensure sufficient water supply for downstream producers. "So far there has been no shortage (of water), it has rained enough in these months, but that canal is there to take one cubic meter (per second), which is what we need for the farmers downstream," he went on to say.

source: https://eldia.com.do/republica-dominicana-esta-preparada-ante-cualquier-inestabilidad-en-haiti-dice-abinader/