The Dominican Minister of the Environment, Orlando Jorge Mera, was shot dead this Monday in his office, allegedly at the hands of a close friend, who is in police custody.
Lawyer and politician, Jorge Mera, 55 years old, was the son of former Dominican President Salvador Jorge Blanco (1982-1986) and was at the head of the ministry since August 2020.
“The information we have handled so far indicates that in the morning hours of today (Monday) the Minister of the Environment lost his life when he was attacked in his office with a firearm,” said the spokesman for the presidency, Homero Figueroa.
“Miguel Cruz, the person identified as the one who fired the shot, was a personal friend of the deceased minister. The person responsible is in the custody of the national police and the Public Ministry,” he added.
Cruz, the alleged shooter, was “a childhood friend whom (the minister) received in his office,” according to a statement from the family. “The circumstances of the incident and its consequent investigation are in the hands of the competent authorities.”
According to ministry sources who spoke to AFP under reservation, the assailant broke into a weekly meeting that Jorge Mera held with his deputy ministers and opened fire.
Being a close friend of the victim, he had no problem getting past security at the ministry in Santo Domingo.
The event recalls the murder of the mayor of Santo Domingo Este, Juan de los Santos, in December 2015, also shot by a friend.
“I deeply regret the death of my good friend, our minister, Orlando Jorge Mera. My most sincere condolences to his wife Patricia and his children Orlando and Patricia Victoria », President Luis Abinader wrote on Twitter
“no tolerance”
Cruz was a businessman allegedly affected by the minister’s policies, according to sources close to the case.
The official applied a “no tolerance” policy in his office. “In our management we will work for the responsible use of natural resources, the protection and conservation of ecosystems, the reduction of pollution, and the effective management of solid waste,” he said upon taking office.
In an interview with Caribbean Y CDN In March, he pointed out that in less than two years he had filed 2,300 cases with the courts for violations of environmental permits, felling of trees, damage to mangroves, among others.
Among those affected are active and retired military, police and businessmen.
Acento indicated that seven detonations were heard. As soon as the shooting was reported, the police closed the access to the building and shortly after entered with a team from their elite unit.
Jorge Mera, founder of the Modern Revolutionary Party together with Abinader, was president of the Dominican Institute of Telecommunications (INDOTEL) between 2000 and 2004, in the government of Hipólito Mejía. He was also a producer and host of a television program.
His family also works in public administration: his sister Dilia Jorge Mera serves as deputy minister of Innovation, Transparency and Citizen Services, and his son Orlando Jorge Villegas serves as deputy. His wife, Patricia Villegas, is ambassador to Brazil.
Official statement from the Dominican Government on the death of Orlando Jorge Mera, Minister of the Environment and Natural Resources. pic.twitter.com/l1iQzsM9V4
— Ministry of Public Works and Communications (@RDMOPC) June 6, 2022
