The Dominican Republic said it would seal its border with Haiti on Friday morning amid a conflict over access to a river shared between the two historically contentious neighbors.
The move would further isolate Haiti, a nation that has descended into gang violence and growing hunger.
Tensions have grown in recent days over construction in the Massacre River, which straddles both nations.
President Luis Abinader of the Dominican Republic, who claimed that the excavation of a canal on the river in Haiti would harm Dominican farmers, froze Haitian visas this week and threatened to close the more than 220 miles of border if the two sides did not reach a resolution.
A Haitian delegation met with the Dominicans in Santo Domingo, the capital, on Wednesday for 11th-hour negotiations, but there was no apparent resolution, and on Thursday, Mr. Abinader announced his decision to shut the boundary between the two Caribbean island nations starting at 6 a.m. local time Friday.
Persons:
Luis Abinader, Abinader
Organizations:
Haitian, Dominicans
Locations:
Dominican Republic, Haiti, Dominican, Santo Domingo