Dominican government responsible for illegal DGM attacks on El Seibo communities
Early on Friday, March 15, agents of the General Directorate of Migration (DGM) raided the communities of Villa Guerrero, Santa Lucía, kilometer 2 and kilometer 8 of the Seibo-Higüey highway. They carried out illegal raids without court orders, breaking down the doors of houses and arbitrarily arresting dozens of people. DGM agents stole money and property from arbitrarily detained people, while committing barbaric acts such as beatings and torture. Among those detained on the basis of racial profiling, as part of a systematic policy of racist persecution by the national government, were Dominicans of Haitian origin, including pregnant women, the elderly and minors, in flagrant violation of the Constitution, the regulations of the Migration Law 285-04, and the binational expulsion protocol signed by the Dominican State and the Haitian State.
No person, regardless of their immigration status, nationality or skin color, should be subjected to unlawful searches, arbitrary detention, theft, extortion, humiliation or acts of of torture. These attacks on the most fundamental human dignity by the authorities of the Dominican State have become the daily life of Haitian immigrants, Dominicans of Haitian origin and black Dominicans, imposing a quasi-state of exception in flagrant violation of the law. .
The penalty of banishment, applied by the dictatorships of Trujillo and Balaguer, does not exist in the Dominican constitutional and legal system. The expulsion to Haiti of Dominicans of Haitian origin violates the Constitution, laws and international human rights agreements signed by the Dominican State. We once again urge the government to end its racist and illegal policies of persecution and repression against black people in this country and reiterate that our community is the largest stateless community in the Western Hemisphere. Submitting to mass expulsion processes constitutes a very serious crime against international humanitarian law. In many cases, Dominicans of Haitian origin have never been to Haiti, they do not speak Creole or French, nor do they have contacts there to receive help when they are illegally deported.
Among the victims of the repressive actions in El Seibo were many women, children, sugar industry workers and elderly people. Many of these people were sleeping at the time of the attack on the DGM, when they saw hooded and undercover agents, in flagrant violation of the Constitution, breaking the locks with tools known as “goat’s paws.”
During the operation, DGM agents stole cell phones and collected large sums of money through extortion from immigrants and Dominicans of Haitian origin. In some cases, when victims refused to hand over the money, it was stolen directly from them. There were beatings against those who resisted arbitrary and illegal arrests, there were even people robbed naked from their homes. Among the victims of the illegal actions of the DGM, there were also immigrants with their immigration papers and people detained solely for trying to stop the violent and arbitrary actions of the agents against minor victims, some of whom were beaten . Some people required medical treatment due to injuries sustained by DGM agents. We demand that the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) take steps to bring to justice the director of the DGM and the agents involved in these illegal actions that violate human rights. Otherwise, it will be necessary to resort to international authorities to obtain the justice that the PGR denies to the victims, although it describes itself as “independent justice”. Likewise, we draw the attention of public opinion to the complicit inaction of the mediator, Pablo Ulloa, in the face of these serious violations of human rights.
Some of those arbitrarily detained were later released through the mediation of Catholic priest Miguel Ángel Guñón. As of Saturday, March 16, a 15-year-old boy remained illegally detained at the Haina Detention Center. We warn that CONANI must not be complicit in the expulsion of this child, as has happened on other occasions. We demand that he be released immediately and reunited with his family.
The Recognized Movement, based on complaints collected in the communities affected by the illegal actions of the DGM, counted the arbitrary detention of ten sugar cane workers, seven minors, five women, including three pregnant, for a total of 22 people arbitrarily detained. The actual number of people arrested is higher.
The government relies on support for its actions. One of them was detected by the communities, his name is “Rafael” and lives in the Kilometer 2 community. He makes accusations and at the same time works as an interpreter to extort arbitrarily detained immigrants.
Testimonies of the illegal actions of the DGM
A 67-year-old sugar cane worker, with 43 years of work in the Dominican sugar industry, whom we will call Jean to protect his identity for fear of reprisals, given the anti-democratic climate and the absence of a State of law which predominates in the country. , gives the following testimony: “While I was in bed at 2 a.m. with my wife, I suddenly heard my door break, and I told my wife not to worry, it’s Immigration. Suddenly, they managed to break down the door and entered the house; two of them held my hand and one grabbed me by the neck and asked me to leave the house and get into the truck naked, I told him I couldn’t leave like that because I was naked, then they started to struggle with me and another one came and he hit me on the wrist, causing injury and intense pain. Then I told him that they were not Immigration officers, but criminals who were outside at dawn, at which point one of them asked me if I had any the money, I said yes and they made me give him the only thousand pesos that I had to eat… so that they would release me. After that, they told me to go to bed; They therefore continued their operations, looting other houses in the community. »
Emmanuel, 29 years old, says that when DGM agents knocked on the door of his house and he opened it, he tried to flee. One of the police officers knocked him down, injuring his knee. As he lay injured on the ground, another officer threw a rock at his back. Despite the injuries caused by the officers, he managed to escape and was able to avoid sustaining more serious injuries.
Marlene was arrested while trying to intercede against the illegal detention of minors. Her husband was also arbitrarily detained. She and her husband had their identity cards with them.
Teleusa 35-year-old sugar cane worker, says that when he opened the door of his house to DGM agents, “ they took me out and for not giving them money after they asked me, they hit me with a machete in the back, while I was being attacked, I struggled until I escaped, then from a distance I saw that they were entering my house, they took my phone and my wallet, I had two thousand pesos, they took them and threw the wallet on the ground outside.»
Charles, 41 ansreports that DGM agents, after breaking down the door of his house and entering it, stole his cell phone and hit him in the back with a gun. “They stole four thousand pesos from me that I had in a bag, they also took engine papers and engines (from the community)”, denounces Osmo, 30 years old.
Hopes reports that the officers entered his house and stole his blue Tecno Pop 7 cell phone. Kemenson says seven officers entered his house and beat his minor brother to steal a blue Redmi Note 10C cell phone. Kresnol says that “ they came suddenly while my kids were sleeping, i managed to get out the back door, my kids told me they took them out of bed, they picked it up while searching and they stirred everything up, when They didn’t find anything, they took my phone and a thousand pesos. » A black HTC cell phone was also stolen.
Recognized Movement
Socialist Workers Movement of the Dominican Republic
4 avril 2024
