Dominican Industrialist Urges Strategic Plans to Manage Haiti-Dominican Relations
Fernando Capellan called for economic integration and a lowering of 'the drums of war' during a CEPAL session in Santiago.
Dominican industrialist and businessman Fernando Capellan said the Dominican Republic and the Republic of Haiti "must develop strategic plans to manage their relationship," according to Le Nouvelliste. Capellan made the remarks during the forty-first session of CEPAL (ECLAC), held in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic, from October 7 to 9, 2026.
In his address, Capellan urged the two nations to take advantage of business opportunities, to "achieve a very powerful economic integration between these two nations," and to reduce "the volume of the drums of war," the outlet reported.
Le Nouvelliste, which published excerpts of the speech on its front page, described the appeal as unusual, noting that never before had such a call been made on either side of the island to reconsider relations between the two countries, which, in a rare arrangement globally, share a single island.
The statement comes amid persistent tensions between the two states. Le Nouvelliste's coverage also referenced ongoing concerns, including a UN panel report that the 400 Mawozo gang sources supplies in the Dominican Republic and a GARR denunciation of the killing of a Haitian by a Dominican migration agent. Further details of Capellan's remarks were not published in full in the available excerpts.