Authorities in the Dominican Republic are investigating the discovery of at least four beheaded women found near the country’s border with Haiti, according to the Associated Press (AP).
Investigators believe the women were killed before their bodies were dumped in the river. (unsplash/representative)Police spokesman Diego Pesquera said the bodies were found in the southern part of the border shared between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. All four victims are citizens of Haiti.
However, Dominican authorities are officially investigating only one death, as only one body has been recovered on Dominican soil. The rest of the bodies were found on the Haitian side of the border, limiting the Dominican Republic’s jurisdiction in the case, Pesquera said.
Also Read: Who Is Jimmy ‘Barbecue’ Cherryzier? The G9 and family gang leaders are now the most powerful men in Haiti
That’s what investigators believe happenedAccording to Dominican police, investigators believe the women were murdered before their bodies were dumped in the river. Currents are believed to have carried the bodies downstream, depositing them in various locations where they were later discovered, Pesqueira told reporters, according to the AP.
Authorities have not released where the killings are believed to have taken place, nor have they released the identities of the victims.
One person has been detained by Dominican authorities in connection with the case, Pesqueira said. The suspect denied involvement and was later handed over to the Haitian National Police.
Although gang-related violence has increased across Haiti in recent years, the discovery of beheaded women is considered unusual, the AP reported. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Haiti faces humanitarian, political, economic and security crises that have severely affected the population. As of January 2022, nearly 16,000 people have been killed, nearly 1.5 million displaced, and more than half of the country’s population lacks reliable access to food.
UNODC says powerful gangs now control large swathes of Haiti’s territory and key infrastructure. Fueled by a steady flow of smuggled weapons, the groups have carried out widespread violence against civilians, including killings, kidnappings and sexual violence.
