Haiti - Security : The Dominican army update its emergency evacuation plan
General Guerrero Clase, Commander of Border Security announced that the armed forces of the Dominican Republic (Fuerzas Armadas de la Republica Dominicana - FARD) are ready to evacuate if necessary, diplomats and consuls of any nation assigned to Haiti, members of the diplomatic corps and the some 17,000 residents Dominicans in Haiti if necessary.
A statement, which comes as Haiti is in the grip of a political crisis, a dysfunctional parliament where the President Michel Martelly was forced to rule by decree and that multiplies the radical opposition calls for popular mobilization to overthrow the democratically elected President Michel Martelly.
General Guerrero Clase stated that the evacuation plan was already operational before the Haitian crisis and also applied in case of natural disaster. Adding that the Plan has just been updated on the basis of intelligence reports that various organizations share with military commanders. He recalled that "This evacuation plan is set in motion, only if there is a great political instability in Haiti," recalling that when this happens, "the Dominican Republic is the first step for many foreign diplomats."
However, he made it clear there was not yet a situation requiring the intervention of the armed forces to evacuate the people concerned, insisting that it was only strictly preventive measures.
He also explained that the resources used in the evacuation plan, would depend on the situation and geographical locations. According to circumstances, an ir evacuation would be done at Port-au-Prince; by sea to Cap Haitien; by land, from Anse-à-Pitre to Pedernales and both air and ground, if the operation is conducted from Ouanaminthe, either to Dajabon and Montecristi.
