The oft-mentioned plan to recover the entire area of the historic fort of Santiago, the Fortaleza San Luis, is currently on hold, due to the persistent presence of several government agencies. Within the walls of the old fort, the offices of the National Drug Control Agency (DNCD), the Transit Agency (Digesett), the National Institute for Ground Transportation and Traffic (Intrant), the Joint Command for the North of the Ministry of Defense and the Office for Police and Army Pensioners are located.
Likewise, a large number of vehicles seized by Digesett are parked in the fort’s patio, as well as those seized by the DNCD. Some have been there for years, making the area look like a junkyard.
On several occasions, retired General Gustavo Jorge Garcia, who has been working on the historical preservation of the fort since 2003, has attempted to get the different offices to relocate, but so far, it has not been done. General Garcia was the initiator of the small, but unique museum on the premises as well as the artist’s workshop that functions in the old municipal jail.
There are those that propose the area become a municipal parking lot, a move backed by the merchants along El Sol Street. Others advocate for it being turned into a tourist attraction for the city because of the large number of visitors it could handle. Others speak of its historic importance, with events related to the 30 March 1844 Battle and the Battle of Santiago during the War of the Restoration played out at the site.
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El Caribe
5 November 2019