NewsWhore
02-01-2011, 02:40 PM
The illegal manufacture and transport of charcoal at the border with Haiti spans over 20 communities located on the route from Independencia and Bahoruco to Haiti. As reported in El Caribe, the production is warehoused in the towns of Tierra Nueva, Boca de Cachon and Puerto Escondido in points located in inhospitable and isolated areas. The warehousing points for the hundreds of bags of charcoal, manufactured in violation of environmental laws, are located in strategic points in the province, so they can be easily transported using the pass by Lago Azuei to facilitate transport to Haiti.
Reporters from El Caribe observed the route used by Dominicans and Haitians to transport the charcoal to Haiti. The warehouses are zealously guarded by Haitian nationals, according to the report. The reporters had first-hand experience of the way that the Haitians were willing to defend the business that gives "interesting dividends" with their lives. It is believed that powerful sectors are also involved.
In the community of La Cuarenta, located south of Tierra Nueva and inhabited by Haitian immigrants, there is a warehouse where reporters observed dozens of bags stored and ready to be sent to Haiti. This settlement is located on the shore of Lake Azuei and from where ships transport the charcoal to Haiti, specifically to Fonds Parisien and from there it is taken to Port-au-Prince and Jacmel.
Jimani's deputy mayor Maria de los Santos Nova told El Caribe that the illicit trafficking in charcoal is a reality because the local authorities have not coordinated a plan for tackling the situation. She said that Haitians and Dominicans with high levels of influence are involved. "They [the Haitians] cut the lumber to make the charcoal but that is because Dominicans are involved behind the scenes. I do not know how high up the complicity reaches," she told El Caribe reporters.
El Caribe reports that the authorities could not explain how the illicit trade in charcoal can prosper in a region that is predominantly militarized. From the Jimani military headquarters to Los Rios in Bahoruco, there are nine checkpoints with Army and Specialized Border Security Staff (Cesfront) staff. Reporters were told that the environmentally destructive business is run by groups of Haitian and Dominican businessmen who finance the illicit production by making those in charge of checking the border their accomplices.
The Environmental Border Program (PMF) reports that around 200 charcoal producers, mostly Haitians, assisted by 12 Dominican truckers dispatch 37,000 bags of charcoal every month. The Ministry of Environment has the findings. The study was coordinated by environmentalist Humberto Checo. Earnings are around RD$89.2 million, of which the producers receive 50%, the truckers and boat transporters 25%, the local middlemen 11.6% and bribes account for 12% of sales.
The study found that the charcoal is sold to five Haitian traders who collect the stocks at the west side of the Lake Azuei for transport to Port-au-Prince. The report had been carried in Hoy in 2009, but little has been done to confront the situation. http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2009/10/28/299525/37-mil-sacos-de-carbon-producen-al-mes-en-sierra-de-Baoruco
http://elcaribe.com.do/site/nacionales/267087-carboneros-operan-como-chivos-sin-ley.html
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/site/nacionales/266974-comercio-ilegal-de-carbon-un-negocio-que-opera-a-sus-anchas.html
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)
Reporters from El Caribe observed the route used by Dominicans and Haitians to transport the charcoal to Haiti. The warehouses are zealously guarded by Haitian nationals, according to the report. The reporters had first-hand experience of the way that the Haitians were willing to defend the business that gives "interesting dividends" with their lives. It is believed that powerful sectors are also involved.
In the community of La Cuarenta, located south of Tierra Nueva and inhabited by Haitian immigrants, there is a warehouse where reporters observed dozens of bags stored and ready to be sent to Haiti. This settlement is located on the shore of Lake Azuei and from where ships transport the charcoal to Haiti, specifically to Fonds Parisien and from there it is taken to Port-au-Prince and Jacmel.
Jimani's deputy mayor Maria de los Santos Nova told El Caribe that the illicit trafficking in charcoal is a reality because the local authorities have not coordinated a plan for tackling the situation. She said that Haitians and Dominicans with high levels of influence are involved. "They [the Haitians] cut the lumber to make the charcoal but that is because Dominicans are involved behind the scenes. I do not know how high up the complicity reaches," she told El Caribe reporters.
El Caribe reports that the authorities could not explain how the illicit trade in charcoal can prosper in a region that is predominantly militarized. From the Jimani military headquarters to Los Rios in Bahoruco, there are nine checkpoints with Army and Specialized Border Security Staff (Cesfront) staff. Reporters were told that the environmentally destructive business is run by groups of Haitian and Dominican businessmen who finance the illicit production by making those in charge of checking the border their accomplices.
The Environmental Border Program (PMF) reports that around 200 charcoal producers, mostly Haitians, assisted by 12 Dominican truckers dispatch 37,000 bags of charcoal every month. The Ministry of Environment has the findings. The study was coordinated by environmentalist Humberto Checo. Earnings are around RD$89.2 million, of which the producers receive 50%, the truckers and boat transporters 25%, the local middlemen 11.6% and bribes account for 12% of sales.
The study found that the charcoal is sold to five Haitian traders who collect the stocks at the west side of the Lake Azuei for transport to Port-au-Prince. The report had been carried in Hoy in 2009, but little has been done to confront the situation. http://www.hoy.com.do/el-pais/2009/10/28/299525/37-mil-sacos-de-carbon-producen-al-mes-en-sierra-de-Baoruco
http://elcaribe.com.do/site/nacionales/267087-carboneros-operan-como-chivos-sin-ley.html
http://www.elcaribe.com.do/site/nacionales/266974-comercio-ilegal-de-carbon-un-negocio-que-opera-a-sus-anchas.html
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#8)