Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies

Dominican Republic and Haiti: Country Studies
Missions
No valid purpose exists for armed forces structured to
defend the Dominican Republic's security because the country
faces no foreseeable external military threat. The principal justification
for the military establishment is the containment of
possible civil unrest. The military is thus largely organized as an
internal security force. The armed forces also constitute a principal
line of defense against international drug trafficking.
However, in spite of help from the United States, the flow of
narcotics has not been stemmed because of equipment and
budget limitations as well as insufficiently motivated personnel.
The Dominican Republic has a tradition of enmity toward
Haiti although the military officers of the two countries have
maintained friendly relations. On a personal level, President
Balaguer had little incentive to enforce the United Nations
(UN) embargo against the Haitian military regime in 1994
because it was intended to help restore the government of President
Jean-Bertrand Aristide, whom Balaguer personally disliked.
The unhindered movement of goods, particularly
gasoline, across the lightly patrolled border with Haiti undercut
the effectiveness of the embargo. Only after coming under
heavy international pressure did Balaguer agree to seal the border
by replacing corrupt border guards with 10,000 or more
troops. The United States provided radios and night vision
equipment, and a UN observer force was dispatched to help
stiffen the Dominican effort. The Dominican army cut down
embargo violations by day but was unable to prevent activity at
night. It was also alleged that many of the border troops were
less interested in interdicting gasoline than in ensuring their
share of the bribe money changing hands.
After the return of the Aristide government in 1994, several
of the more notorious of the Haitian military coup leaders took
refuge in the Dominican Republic, where their presence
became a source of tension between the two governments. In
1996, however, they were deported by the Dominican authorities
and left for Central America.
Dominican army troops and observation posts are thinly
located along the length of the 388-kilometer frontier. Border
forces are principally concerned with illegal border crossings
and contraband, especially narcotics. Haitian military capability
has been clearly unequal to that of Dominican forces, and
incursions in whatever form could be handled. Any latent Haitian
threat became even more improbable after the Haitian
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