---
Waldemar Quiles Pérez, the newly appointed Secretary of Natural and Environmental Resources (DNER), will need to clarify his choice to dismiss allegations of illegal construction in La Parguera, Lajas, mere hours after assuming office, according to Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz, who made the remark late last week.
The administrative directive, released last Thursday, came after comments from Gov. Jenniffer González Colón made during her swearing-in on January 2, in which she described an ongoing probe into waterfront construction on properties owned by her in-laws as “political persecution” directed at her.
The inquiry focused on supposed offenders, which included the governor’s in-laws, who face allegations of unlawfully cutting down mangroves and carrying out unauthorized expansions and renovations on a platform or dock at their La Parguera residence, a natural reserve established in 1979 famous for its bioluminescent bay.
Quiles’ directive permits the legalization of constructions in La Parguera by enabling them to pay specific fees. He mentioned that the order was crafted and formulated by the previous administration. In response, Rivera Schatz stressed on social platforms that tackling political persecution necessitates prudence and openness.
Hernaliz Vázquez Torres, the director of the Sierra Club’s Puerto Rico Chapter, is demanding Quiles’ immediate dismissal as DNER secretary after he issued the executive order, which she contends signifies a severe conflict of interest and misuse of power.
Administrative Order 2025-01, which Quiles signed coinciding with his appointment, archives the administrative complaints against José del C. Vargas Cortés and Irma Llavona Rivera, the governor’s in-laws, and legitimizes the existence of other private structures on protected land by mandating a fee payment every five years. This decision comes despite significant allegations of violations against Vargas and Llavona, encompassing illegal mangrove cutting, land filling, and construction without permits.
“This measure is an open affront to environmental protection and justice,” Vázquez Torres stated. “It is intolerable that the DNER secretary, whose role should be to protect our natural resources, is leveraging his position to advantage the governor’s in-laws. This order not only legitimizes the ongoing environmental harm in La Parguera but also reveals the genuine priorities of Governor Jenniffer González’s administration, a matter we have been protesting since her inauguration.”
The Sierra Club chapter director also emphasized that the secretary’s actions contradict current laws and regulations safeguarding maritime-terrestrial zones.
“Dismissing these cases as if they were mere academic issues is a mockery of the conservation efforts championed by numerous organizations and individuals for decades,” she remarked. “This type of power abuse is unacceptable.”
