La Cuaba waste plant opposition

Opposition to a proposed waste management facility in the Los Aguacates area of La Cuaba, Pedro Brand, has escalated from formal administrative appeals to violent confrontation.

Initially, Carlos Julio Montaño Ureña, the director of the La Cuaba municipal district, formally requested that President Luis Abinader halt plans to install a landfill or solid waste disposal system. Montaño Ureña argued the project posed a “significant threat to the environmental quality and tranquility of the local communities” and urged the government to seek alternative locations.

Following these appeals, community resistance intensified through the establishment of a community camp. During a gathering marking 100 days of this camp, a protest against the project—led by the company OakHouse—turned fatal. The incident involved a shooting where an individual in a white jeep fired at demonstrators, resulting in one death and one injury. Local residents and the La Cuaba Development Board continue to oppose the facility, citing threats to a subtropical humid forest area containing essential springs, streams, and aquifers.