Malpasse: Dominican merchants allegedly pay gangs $5,000 a week, says Iván García

Dominican merchants are paying up to 5,000 US dollars a week to Haitian armed gangs so that their goods can enter Haiti, Iván García, president of the Dominican Federation of Merchants (Federación Dominicana de Comerciantes), alleged on Tuesday, October 27. He presented no evidence to support the claims.

According to the Dominican outlet N Digital, García said: "Muchas veces hay que darles 5 mil dólares semanales de parte de nosotros, los empresarios dominicanos" ("Very often we have to give them 5,000 dollars a week, from us, the Dominican businesspeople"). He added: "Tenemos que reunir un dinero semanal y mandárselo a las bandas haitianas" ("We have to collect money every week and send it to the Haitian gangs").

The Malpasse crossing

According to Listín Diario, García places this "toll" at Malpasse, opposite Jimaní, where a single road runs along the lake. He said the gangs have a smaller presence at Elías Piña and none in the north, at Dajabón. He traces the practice back to the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021. "Si no le pagan el peaje, ellos lo que hacen es que no dejan pasar las mercancías" ("If they are not paid the toll, they do not let the goods through"), he told the newspaper, adding that "the only ones who lose are the Haitian people", who pay higher prices.

The outlets do not all report his remarks the same way. Listín Diario writes that it is mainly Haitian merchants who pay in order to receive goods, with Dominican businesspeople sometimes paying to keep supplying their customers. El Día refers to Haitian merchants, the Canal 6 channel to transporters.

According to El Día, García was speaking at a presentation by the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD), part of the 2026 Galardones Industriales, in Santo Domingo. He said much of the flow of goods, which used to go through Jimaní, the crossing closest to Port-au-Prince, has shifted to Elías Piña, raising the cost of transport over the mountains.

No evidence, no Haitian response

None of the articles reviewed cites a document, an identified victim or a receipt. Antonio Cruz Rojas, who attended the same event, said he did not rule out that such payments were taking place, while noting that no member of his organization had reported any to him, according to El Día.

In an article published on Wednesday, October 28, N Digital reported that Dominican President Luis Abinader said his government will not allow the gangs to settle near the border. Defense Minister Lieutenant General Carlos Antonio Fernández Onofre said the armed groups have not advanced toward the main crossings, though they control roads linking Port-au-Prince to the border, with about seven collection points between Jimaní and the Haitian capital.

No response from the Haitian authorities or from the General Customs Administration (AGD) had been reported. The Malpasse customs post was taken over by heavily armed men in May 2025, who set up a toll there, according to Le Nouvelliste. According to Dominican customs director Nelson Arroyo, quoted by Canal 6, Dominican exports to Haiti reached 812.4 million dollars by the end of September.