(Santo Domingo) The Minister of the Environment of the Dominican Republic, Orlando Jorge Mera, was shot dead Monday in his office of the ministry in Santo Domingo by a relative who was arrested, announced various official sources.
Posted yesterday at 2:33 p.m.
Lawyer and politician, Jorge Mera, 55, son of former Dominican President Salvador Jorge Blanco (1982-1986) had been at the head of the Ministry of the Environment since August 2020.
“In the early hours of the day today [lundi] the Minister of the Environment lost his life in an armed attack in his office”, announced the spokesman of the presidency, Homero Figueroa, specifying that “the shooter” who was arrested, “was a personal friend of the minister “.
Photo Walter Astrada, Associated Press archive
The Minister of the Environment of the Dominican Republic, Orlando Jorge Mera
The victim’s family said the alleged shooter, Miguel Cruz, was “a childhood friend [le ministre] received in his office”, thus explaining how he had been able to have easy access to the security zones inside the ministry.
The shootings, seven in number according to the local press, occurred while the minister was holding a weekly meeting with his deputy ministers, sources inside the ministry told AFP on condition of anonymity.
AFP teams on the spot saw elite police units entering the building and the building was evacuated.
“The circumstances of the incident and its subsequent investigation are in the hands of the competent authorities,” the family statement added without further details.
According to sources close to the investigation, Miguel Cruz is a businessman in conflict with the policy of the Minister of the Environment.
In an interview with the local press in March, Orlando Jorge Mera said that he had brought some 2,300 cases to court in less than two years, notably for violations of environmental permits or illegal logging.
“I deeply regret the passing of my good friend, our minister, Orlando Jorge Mera. My sincere condolences to his wife Patricia and children Orlando and Patricia Victoria,” President Luis Abinader wrote on Twitter.