Soldier Kills Haitian in Dominican Republic*
MONTECRISTI, Dominican Republic – An illegal Haitian immigrant was killed by a soldier in Matas de Santa Cruz, a community in the northwestern Dominican province of Montecristi, the army said.
A patrol stopped a motorcycle being ridden by a Haitian, who attacked the soldiers with a machete and was shot dead on Monday, the army said.
Pvt. Sterling Castillo Batista fired at the Haitian, who was not carrying identity documents, in self-defense, the army said.
Army 4th Brigade commander Gen. Manuel Perozo traveled to Matas de Santa Cruz to lead the investigation of the shooting.
Dominican officials estimate that around 1 million Haitians live in the country, most of them illegal immigrants who work in agriculture and construction.
The Dominican Republic and Haiti share the Caribbean island of Hispaniola, with Haiti in the western portion.
Though both countries are poor, Haiti is destitute, and Haitians cross the border to do work that many Dominicans will not do, such as harvesting sugar cane.
Haitians have been the target of mob violence numerous times in recent years, and the Dominican government has been widely criticized for its treatment of the migrants.
Thousands of Haitians fled to the Dominican Republic after the magnitude-7.0 earthquake that killed and injured hundreds of thousands of people on Jan. 12, 2010, and displaced more than 1 million others.EFE
*SOURCE: http://laht.com/article.asp?ArticleId=383665&CategoryId=14092