The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic, Roberto Alvarez, has alerted the international community to the risk that the situation in Haiti could spiral out of control. Speaking at a United Nations Security Council meeting on Haiti on Monday, April 21, the Dominican minister explained that the Haitian crisis threatens his country's internal security and warned that the events unfolding in Haiti could escalate into an international conflict.

“If lethargy continues, if the international community does not intervene decisively to resolve this long-standing crisis, we run a serious risk of witnessing the transformation of this crisis into an international conflict of unpredictable proportions. The most effective strategy is to tackle conflicts head-on before they spiral out of control. Are we willing to wait for uncontrollable developments that would place criminal groups at the head of the country—groups with whom we would be forced to negotiate?” warned Roberto Alvarez.