Leaders of the evangelical community in San Juan de la Maguana have rallied against the exploitation of gold in the province, Evangelical Focus reports.
Thousands of evangelicals marched against mining exploitation by the venture led by GoldQuest. On Sunday, 13 July 2025, they warned of the irreversible damage that a Canadian gold mine would cause, affecting five southern provinces. They appeal to President Luis Abinader to put a halt to the project.
Thousands of evangelicals from the southern municipality of San Juan de la Maguana marched against mining in the San Juan Valley, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Canadian company GoldQuest.
The environmental mobilisation covered three kilometres in the central area of San Juan de la Maguana, and was organised by the Confraternity of Evangelical Ministers and Churches of San Juan (COMIES), the Pastoral Union Visión de lo Alto, the Pastoral and Ministerial Alliance (ALPAMIS), the Pastoral and Ministerial Community of Villa Liberación ‘Esperanza Viva’ and the Block of Pastors United for Christ Córbano Sur.
The evangelical entities indicate that “they are carrying out this mobilisation to denounce that the mining company GoldQuest is going to destroy the land of the San Juan Valley through metal mining in the very centre of the Cordillera Central, on the banks of the San Juan River”.
They warn that “the consequences of exploiting the Romero gold mine will cause irreversible damage that will affect five southern provinces (San Juan, Azua, Barahona, Bahoruco and Independencia), which is why authorizing studies for its implementation would be senseless”.
The San Juan Valley is a region located in the Dominican Republic, between the provinces of San Juan, Elías Piña and Azua. It has an area of approximately 2,500 square kilometres and a population of 306,000 inhabitants. The San Juan Valley is an area with great hydrogeological potential.
“Our forests do not belong to any transnational company that only seeks to profit. All of God’s children must love nature, care for it and keep it healthy for future generations”, said the evangelical churches in a statement read at the end of the march by Pastor Ramón Campechano.
For evangelicals, it is a contradiction that government officials, such as the ministers of the environment and energy and mines, are agreeing with foreign companies to violate the Constitution of the Republic, which in Article 15 prohibits damage to rivers and mining in such an environmentally fragile area.
Finally, they demanded an immediate response from President Abinader to “halt these devastating attempts in the San Juan Valley” and thus bring peace and tranquillity to the entire area.
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Evangelical Focus
DR1 News
15 July 2025