New York. The owner of a biodigester or open-air waste recycling project in Puerto Plata, identified as Francisco Veras, requested that El Faro Latino remove a published report concerning the installation, following a telephone conversation with this news outlet that was recorded as part of its internal editorial protocols during the newspaper’s continuing coverage of the matter.
The request to remove the content came after the publication of a report documenting community complaints, ongoing legal actions, and statements attributed to authorities regarding the project’s regulatory status, elements that have intensified public debate in the Dominican Republic and sustained broad reader interest both domestically and among the Dominican diaspora abroad.
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The project, promoted by Gestión Ambiental Punto Verde and linked to architect Francisco E. Veras Paulino, is being developed in a high-traffic tourism corridor between Amber Cove and downtown Puerto Plata, in an area that includes residential neighborhoods, restaurants, a school kitchen, the Puerto Plata campus of the Autonomous University of Santo Domingo, educational institutions, and nearby tourist complexes such as Costambar and Cofresí, increasing public scrutiny surrounding the development.
During the phone conversation, the businessman requested that information related to his project be removed, stating that, in his view, the published content could negatively affect him while the project remains in the process of obtaining permits or regulatory approvals.
However, when asked by this newspaper to identify specific facts he considered inaccurate or misleading, he did not, according to the conversation record, point to concrete elements that could be immediately verified or corrected.
In the same exchange, he reiterated that he did not want his business referenced in the report and maintained his request for removal. As of the time of publication, no formal request for correction accompanied by verifiable information had been submitted to this newspaper.
El Faro Latino reiterated that the publication was produced under investigative journalism standards, based on documented complaints, interviews, and review of administrative information available at the time of publication, and reminded the businessman that he retains the right to present his version of events.
Following the call, the businessman sent messages to the newspaper’s director expressing concerns related to possible legal implications, business reputation, and media exposure. Although those messages were later deleted, this news organization retains internal records of those communications.
In a second telephone conversation, the businessman stated that he was meeting with other individuals to discuss the publication, without providing additional details regarding the purpose or scope of that meeting.
This episode follows the publication, the previous day, of a report detailing community complaints, ongoing legal proceedings, and statements attributed to authorities concerning the regulatory status of the biodigester project, located along one of Puerto Plata’s principal tourism access routes.
The investigation also includes interviews with officials and residents expressing concerns regarding potential environmental, public health, and economic impacts in the surrounding area.
El Faro Latino noted that it is a U.S.-based media organization and that its editorial operations are conducted under the applicable legal framework of the United States, including constitutional protections relating to freedom of the press.
The newspaper reiterated that its editorial decisions are based on journalistic standards and reasonable verification of available information, while remaining open to incorporating formal statements from the businessman or his representatives as part of his right of reply.
The biodigester matter remains under review by the relevant authorities, while public debate continues among community groups, project representatives, and other stakeholders involved in the controversy.
Opposition to the project has been formalized, according to documentation reviewed by this newspaper, by a coalition of neighborhood associations in northwestern Puerto Plata, whose representatives have signed documents and taken action expressing opposition to the installation of the biodigester and recycling facility in that area.
Among the community leaders identified in the documentation are José Humberto Domínguez of the Loma de la Bestia Neighborhood Association; Rose María Vélez of the Urbanización San Felipe Neighborhood Association; Chris Cuates of the Playa Cofresí Neighborhood Association; Arquímedes Ureña Vásquez, identified as a community leader; Rogelio Corcino Otaño of the Maggiolo Neighborhood Association; and Rafael Vásquez, linked to the Altagracia Neighborhood Association.
Also identified are Gerardo Minaya Valdez of the Las Mercedes Neighborhood Association; Segundo González Gómez of the Las Tres Palmas Neighborhood Association; Hofranyi Bonilla García of the Ciudad Universitaria Neighborhood Association; Rafael A. Santos Valenzuela, identified in the documentation as a community leader; and Lidia García of the Los Domínguez Neighborhood Association.
According to the documentation reviewed, these actions reflect organized community opposition to the project, grounded in concerns related to public health, environmental protection, and tourism development in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic.
This is a developing story. El Faro Latino will continue following the case.
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