SANTO DOMINGO: The Dominican Republic’s environment minister, Orlando Jorge Mera, was shot dead in his office on Monday.

A spokesman for the president’s office said in a video posted to Twitter that a suspect, identified as Miguel Cruz, was arrested. Cruz was a childhood friend of the minister.

Employees at the ministry of environment told journalists that they heard at least seven shots from within the building. Mera, a 55-year-old lawyer, was the son of former president Salvador Jorge Blanco, who was in office from 2002 to 2006.

Published in Dawn,June 7th, 2022