Minister of the Environment Bautista Rojas Gomez has issued a firm warning to anyone who abuses the nation’s natural resources. According to an article in El Nuevo Diario, “Bauta” as the press loves to call him, dressed in army fatigues, toured the Sabana Grande de Boya area in Monte Plata province, where dozens of Royal Palms have been cut down. He ordered the immediate reforestation of the area and instructed the ministry’s prosecutors and investigators to find out who was responsible and to arrest them and send them to the justice system. He said that “we cannot allow what happened to this strip of Royal Palms in Sabana Grande de Boya to become common practice… and we will step up our vigilance.” Rojas Gomez was minister of Public Health in the two previous administrations of President Leonel Fernandez.