Cattle rustling plagues northeast Haiti

Haiti Progres, This Week in Haiti,
Vol. 16, no. 9, 20-26 May 1998

On the morning of April 19, two policemen from Ft. Liberte drove to the town of Ferrier, near the border with the Dominican Republic. Accompanied by two Dominicans, they searched various farms in the area for stolen Dominican cattle. Several animals were seized at two farms, and many peasants were questioned, accused, or intimidated.

The peasants resented their treatment by the policemen, since they too have seen their livestock stolen of late. They say that there is a cross-border network of cattle rustlers who are equipped with guns, cars, and motorcycles. Some peasants have even resorted to bringing their animals into their homes at night. The cattle are stolen from Haiti and then sold in the Dominican Republic, and vice versa, peasants say.

They also claim that one man in the communal section of Bas Maribeau is a well-known rustler, a certain Baby Louis. He was working with Yves St. Fort, a member of the local Administrative Council of the Communal Sections (CASEC). Although the police arrested St. Fort and jailed him for 18 days, Baby Louis circulates freely under the nose of the authorities.

The peasants of Ferrier ask why the police harrass them, while taking no measures to stop the traffic of stolen livestock by patrolling the border or arresting well-known rustlers like Baby Louis.