Apparently with the tacit approval of the Santiago city government, dump trucks are being loaded with sand from the Yaque del Norte River at nighttime. The sand is believed to be going to the construction of the Paseo de Yaque project that is being sponsored by the local municipal council despite objections from the Ministry of the Environment. The Ministry had halted the work, but photographers from El Caribe were able to get shots of the trucks being loaded at 9:30pm on Sunday, 24 March.
Mayor Gilberto Serulle has denied that the sand is being sold, but reporters were able to confirm, according to the newspaper, that in fact a lot of it was ending up in private hands in the municipality of Navarrete.
The Paseo del Yaque project has been widely criticized by environmentalists while the mayor has defended it as a future tourist attraction for the city.