American Denounces Officials Blocking Million-Dollar Investment in Puerto Plata

An American investor informed President Luis Abinader, through a public letter, of the illegal blocking of private land and the repeated contempt of court rulings by Dominican state officials, who have halted the execution of a tourism project valued at more than US$400 million in Cabarete, Puerto Plata. This is Lance Lundberg, an entrepreneur with over three decades of experience in sectors such as energy, technology, real estate, health, and media, leading companies that today generate over a billion dollars in annual revenue. In his letter, Lundberg explains that in 2006 he acquired a property of 137 thousand square meters in front of the renowned Encuentro Beach, which was the subject of an illegal invasion resolved in all judicial instances, including a firm ruling by the Supreme Court of Justice in 2012 through sentence 534 of August 22 of the same year and the ratification of the Constitutional Court in 2020. The project, designed with high ecological standards and focused on water sports, contemplates the creation of thousands of jobs and the international promotion of Cabarete as a world-class destination. However, she denounces having suffered illegal occupations, and, since 2021, the obstruction of the exercise of her right to property by public institutions. This includes destruction of her perimeter fence with military support, placement of false signage within her property, and the refusal of a governmental institution to deliver a construction permit approved and paid for in April 2024. Even in November 2024 and May 2025, the Superior Administrative Court ordered several organizations to respect their property rights, but the decisions have not been enforced.

The investor pointed out that among the institutions that have been in contempt are central government bodies and entities linked to land management, environment, and tourism development, which the Superior Administrative Court ordered, in repeated rulings, to respect property rights, remove illegal signage, and refrain from entering the property without authorization. According to Lundberg, the persistence of these entities in failing to comply with final court rulings constitutes an alarming precedent for the rule of law and sends a negative signal to the international investment community.  “We still believe that the Dominican Republic is a country of opportunities, where the law is respected, investment is honored, and the truth prevails,” adds Lundberg, a graduate of Harvard Business School and Yale University, and who has also been an active collaborator of medical and social organizations in the United States. With this public letter, presented as an alternative route, it seeks the direct intervention of President Abinader after exhausting private efforts with authorities and depositing the case documentation in the Ministry of the Presidency and the Legal Consultancy of the Executive Branch.