Cuban soccer player Arichell Hernández Mora, from Club Atlético de Pantoja, was detained by immigration authorities from the Dominican Republic, supposedly after they confused him with a Haitian immigrant.
Fernando García, soccer coach, said that the arrest of Hernández Mora – born in Villa Clara on September 20, 1993 – occurred when he was traveling from the training center in the Club Atlético de Pantoja transport to his home, reported the local media CDN.
The authorities asked for his documents but the player did not have his passport or his contract with him, so he was detained and transferred to the Haina Immigration Vacation Reception Center, a place where illegal immigrants in the country are taken.
The organization defending the human rights of Haitian workers denounced that it was "Unacceptable!" that the Cuban soccer player, "just because he was black, was detained and confused with a Haitian by the General Directorate of Immigration. Despite showing documents, he will be deported today to Haiti," the organization noted in X.
Faced with accusations that the soccer player was confused with a Haitian immigrant, the authorities defended themselves and assured that the Cuban had his documentation expired and is illegal in the country.
The General Directorate of Immigration (DGM) clarified that the arrest during an immigration interdiction operation "was carried out at 7:30 at night, at kilometer 9 of the Duarte Highway, and was due to the fact that the foreigner was traveling without the due documentation and not to a confusion with a Haitian national".
"Every foreigner in transit or resident in the country, at the time of a consultation, must present the proper documentation that supports his stay in the Dominican Republic, and in this case, at no time was that person confused with a Haitian, but the law that governs the matter mandates that the foreigner carry his documents with him, otherwise he is detained and taken to purge," Immigration stated in a press release.
Fernando García, however, reported that the immigration authorities mistreated the soccer player and did not provide any type of assistance and attention to his representatives when they were informed that he had his documents in order.
Hernández's family has resided in the Dominican Republic since last December and the athlete is in the process of formalizing his status job in the country, said the coach.
However, the general director of Immigration, Venancio Alcántara, assured that he will not allow abuses or excess force by the personnel under his responsibility, regardless of the immigration status of the person, but that the documentation presented by the soccer player has expired. which makes it illegal in the Dominican Republic.
Arichell Hernández is a soccer player for the Cuban Soccer Team and has an active contract for two years with the Dominican Republic soccer team.
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