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The Massacre or Dajabón river is a river located at the border of the Dominican Republic and Haiti and its location has sparked a conflict between the two nations because of a violation of their Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Arbitration. Both nations signed the document in 1929 agreeing to an equitable use of the Massacre River's water, which has been divided between the two countries ever since. The treaty states that any alteration to the river is prohibited, and neither nation may change its natural flow or structure.

On Friday, September 15th, 2023, the pact was broken not by the Haitian government, but by select farmers from the Ministry of Agriculture, who began to dig a canal on their side of the river to combat drought in Haiti. The violation of the pact prompted the Dominican Republic's President to close the border with Haiti in protest of the illegal construction of the canal, which will transfer more of the water that was agreed to be shared equally to Haiti's side of the island.

The project, which is being carried out independently by Haitian farmers, could dry the Dominican side of the river causing tensions between Dominicans and Haitian farmers that prompted Dominican President Luis Abinader to contact the Haitian government, which responded that they never authorized the canal project but also isn't going to stop it.

The Dominican government decided to stop issuing visas to all Haitian citizens until the dispute is resolved and Haitian farmers are still building the canal independently with no governmental supervision, harming agriculture, destroying the environment, and worsening the humanitarian situation in the border areas of both countries.

Many Haitians will be affected by the closing of the border over the Massacre river dispute because the Dominican Republic has provided housing, citizenship, and healthcare to Haiti citizens since the 7.0 magnitude earthquake in 2012 and around 40% of all deliveries in Dominican public hospitals were of Haitian women. A birth in Haiti costs $253, but the Dominican Republic assumes it.