In the Dominican Republic, 1,464 Haitians are currently behind bars, mainly in La Victoria prison (363 inmates), El Seibo (110), Anamuya de Higuëy (101) and La Vega (100).

306 (20.9%) of the 1,464 Haitian detainees are in prison for homicides; 285 (19.4%) for robberies; 194 (13.2%) for drugs; 175 (11.9%) for domestic violence; 108 (7.3%) for assault and battery and 396 (27.0%) for various other criminal code offences, according to statistics from the General Directorate of Penitentiary and Correctional Services.

Of all Haitian detainees, 376 have been sentenced by the courts, while 1,088 (74.3%) are in preventive detention awaiting trial.

Haitians represent 80.08% of the 1,828 foreign prisoners in the Dominican Republic (2022)

In 2021, in addition to Haitians, there were 214 North Americans and 104 Europeans in Dominican prisons.

However, all Haitian prisoners represent only 4.99% of the 29,289 detainees in the 41 prison centers of the country (2022 estimate). It should be noted that these centers are overcrowded, the average occupancy rate being 183%

La Victoria is the most populated prison in the Dominican Republic where there is the highest level of overcrowding with more than 7,000 inmates

Image thumbnail : Partial view of the courtyard of La Victoria prison

S/ HaitiLibre