Haitian boatpeople top Dominican Navy’s detainees for the first time

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s Navy intercepted 165 vessels, detained 592 boatpeople of various nationalities and charged 82 trip organizers this year, the military branch said Tuesday.

The Navy said 967 Haitian nationals figure among the total arrests, and it’s the first time that foreigners lead in the Navy’s total arrests.

They are followed by 520 Dominicans, 97 Cubans, 8 Indians, and one each from the U.S., Brazil and Ecuador.

In a statement, the Navy said 82 trip organizers or captains were brought to justice for violating the Immigrant Smuggling and Trafficking Law 137-03.

The Navy said it seized 53 vessels and detained 173 people from January to December for poaching in Dominican territorial waters, adding that of those arrested, 150 were of Haitian nationals and 23 Dominicans.