The President of the Dominican Republic stated that he will carry out his threats to completely close the borders between his country and Haiti, after describing Haiti's construction of a canal on the river linking the two countries as "provocative".

Dominican President Luis Abinader announced late yesterday evening, that starting from six o'clock this Friday morning local time, all land, sea, and air movement between the two countries, which share the island of Hispaniola, will be halted.

This step means that three daily flights between the two countries will be stopped, and the livelihoods of thousands of Haitian merchants who rely on trade in markets along the border will suddenly come to a halt.

The latest dispute between the two neighbors erupted earlier this week when Abinader issued an ultimatum to Haiti, urging it to stop the construction of a canal along the Massacre River in northeastern Haiti or face border closure.

In hopes of de-escalating the crisis, Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry sent a team of mid-level technicians and diplomats to Santo Domingo on Wednesday. However, the delegation returned yesterday after failing to convince Abinader, who is preparing for elections, to abandon his threats.