Minister of Sports Kelvin Cruz says he was not aware trees were being felled at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center to make way for venues for the Central American and Caribbean Sports Games 2026.
As reported in En Segundos, the controversy surrounding the felling of trees at the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center in Santo Domingo has escalated, with Sports and Recreation Minister Kelvin Cruz publicly distancing himself from the intervention and expressing strong opposition.
“I found out through the media — after it had already happened. I was outraged and immediately called those responsible to demand an explanation. They told me the Baseball Federation requested the space, but I do not agree with what was done,” Cruz said during an interview on El Show del Mediodía on Monday, 21 July 2025.
According to journalist Moisés Mejía in Listín Diario, the minister described the deforestation as unjustified and vowed to demand environmental reparations.
“We will personally require that for every tree cut down, five new ones be planted,” Cruz stated firmly.
The tree removal, initially denounced by the Wiche García Saleta Foundation, is believed to have affected around 300 trees, many of them fully grown. The organization called the action an irreversible attack on one of the capital’s key green spaces, often referred to as the city’s “urban lung.”
The Wiche García Saleta Foundation has years denouncing the felling of trees that have been turning the once green area into a mass of concrete venues.
El Dia reported that after the felling of the trees for the baseball field was made public, the ministers of Housing, Carlos Bonilla, Sports, Kelvin Cruz, and José P. Monegro, president del Comité Organizador de los Juegos Santo Domingo 2026, created a commission to supervise all related to the Juan Pablo Duarte Olympic Center renovations for the games. Jose Monegro is the executive editor of El Dia.
Read more in Spanish:
El Show del Mediodia
CDN
En Segundos
El Dia
23 July 2025