Orlando Jorge Mera was shot dead by a relative, a businessman opposed to his policy.
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Stupor in the Dominican Republic. Environment Minister Orlando Jorge Mera was shot dead on Monday June 6 in his ministry office in Santo Domingo. 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 today (Monday) 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”.
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. “The circumstances of the incident and its subsequent investigation are in the hands of the competent authorities”added without further details the press release of the family.
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 in less than two years he had brought some 2,300 cases before the courts for, among other things, violation of environmental permits or illegal logging.