SITUATION ON HAITIAN-DOMINICAN FRONTIER.

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP08C01297R000300250008-6
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: S
• Document Page Count: 3
• Document Creation Date: December 27, 2016
• Document Release Date: September 18, 2012
• Sequence Number: 8
• Publication Date: July 7, 1945
• Content Type: MEMO

JA ? /1:2. ?
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08001297R000300250008-6
?
No. 876.
SECRET
.Subject: Situation on the Haitian-Dominican Frontier..
EMBASSY OF THE
lir,i;T1,) STATES OF AMERICA
Port-au-Prince, Haiti, July
-1945.
The Honorable
The Secretary of State,
Washington, D. C.
Sir:
PLANNING, EDITINCTc
AND REFERENCE
S EP 2 5 1945
DIVISION OF GEOGRAPHY & 'CARTOGRAPHY
DEPARTMENT OF STATE.*
I have the honor to transmit herewith as of in- -
terest to the Department, the text of a memorandum dated
July 5, 1945?, addressed to me by Lieutenant Commander
Taylor, the Naval Attache of this Embassy. In this
memorandum Commander Taylor describes his visit to
Cuanaminthe, the chief Haitian frontier town in the
northeastern part of the Republic, where a strong
garrison is stationed. The entire document is de-
serving of the Department's' consideration. I wish,
however, to invite attention to the statement that
conditions are quiet along that part of the border
and that the underbrush and other vegetation along
the boundary line where it is not formed by the
Massacre River has been cleaned by the international
commission which was appointed by both governments
last year (see my despatch no. 368 of November 17,
1944). It is also interesting to note that the
boundary appears to be respected by both Haitians
and Dominicans and that private property holdings
are carefully delimited and do not overlap the
4'frontier.
Respectfully yours,
Enclosure:
1/ Copy of memorandum
dated July 5, 1945.
File: 800 .D
OW/ham
To the Department ii. ozalid.
cc: Amembassy, Ciudad Trujillo.
Central Intelligence File.
Orme trilson
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08001297R000300250008-6
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08001297R000300250008-6
Enclosure no. 1 to despatch no. 876 dated July 79
AIR WM_ 1945, from the Embassy, Port-au-Prince, Haiti,
COPY
AMERICAN EMBASSY
Office of the Raval Attach?
CONFIDENTIAL 5 July 1945.
MEMORANDUM TO THE AMBASSADOR:
I.have just returned with Mr. Baker from Ouanaminthe,
where we visited ,with Captain Georges Bayard, Commanding
Officer of the Garde ?d'Haiti post there. He advised me ?
that there have open no incidents of any kind in his area
and that the entire section is, and has been, quiet4
Captain Bayard said he was just completing the last
of his five outpost guard houses along the frontier. The
first is located at the mouth of the Massacre dlver, form-
ing the boUndary line between Aaiti and the Dominican
Republic, and the other four at intervals along the border,
particularly where the ilassacre itiver ceases to act as the
boundary line, he thought they were approximately 40 kilo-
meters between stations; but that. is probably incorrect, as
the map indicates it is only approximately 100 kilometers .
from the mouth of the Massacre River to the end of the
Department of the Rorth. Consequently, they would appear
to be only 20 kilometers, or 10-12 miles, apart. he ex-
pects to have the last of these completed by the end of
July.
He states. that the boundary line, where it is not
formed by the massacrediver, has been cleaned out for a
distance of six meters, which forms a no-man's-land be-
tween the two countries, and a line of trees has been
planted in the center so as to mark the boundary line
very definitely. Boundary lines of the private properties
of both Dominicans and Haitians abut this boundary line
only to the edge of the so-called no-man's-land. He
states there is no disposition on the part of .either
Haitians or Doftinicans in the area to cross the boundary
line, except for the few instances where there have been
the usual crossings by thieves from one country or the
other. . According to him, there?is very littlesmuggling
going on. .
He states that each guard house is manned by five
soldiers who patrol the border constantly on muleback,
he said that he did not know of any new airfield
under construction at Dajabon, opposite Cuanaminthe, but
that there had been an airfied there and it may have been
improved. The airfield at Ouanaminthe will be improved
as soon as the prisoners finish the construction of the
last guard house-, in a menth or so, and it will take ap-
proximately three months to get the field at Ouanaminthe
in shape' to be used by the smallest of the Haitian planes.
We did not visit the airfield, as it is some distance from
the town, and part of the way you have to go by foot now.
Captain Bayard
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08001297R000300250008-6
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08001297R000300250008-6
,
AIR MAIL
2
Captain Bayard has constructed, since my last visit,
a guard. house and a Customs House at the gateway leading
to the international bridge between the two countries,
connecting Ouanaminthe with. Dajabon. It is about 200
yards from this gate.t0 the "aitian entrance to the
bridge, which is a fine cement structure. The Domini-
can guard house is .directly in front of the Dominican
end of the international bridge. It comprises a fair-
sized cement structure about 150 feet long, ,with an arch-
way in the center through which all vehicles must pass.
It appears to house a Dominican guard coffiplement and the
usual Customs and Immigration offices.
In Ouanaminthe there is a resident Dominican Consul,
whose wife, incidentally, is a relative of a Mr. Gonzales,
who is employed by the Plantation?Dauphin
The Captain stated that the policy ofrun-fraterniza-
tion between the haitian guard and the Dominican .guard
which began about a year ago still continues; but other-
wise there appears to. be .no particular lack of cordiality
between officials of the two countries. The Captain is
living in Ouanaminthe with his wife and four children, and
the Dominican Consul also lives ? there with his family.
There is every appearance of the quiet that the
Captain states exists.
RaCICE,'2AYLOR.
Corudr,, USN R
copy/ham
Declassified and Approved For Release 2012/12/12 : CIA-RDP08001297R000300250008-6