They denounce indiscriminate felling of pine trees and request immediate intervention by the authorities

Santiago Rodríguez. – Senator Antonio Marte, and community members from the El Dajao section, separately, firmly and responsibly denounced the indiscriminate logging of an extensive pine area on community-use land, a situation that has generated alarm, fear, and deep indignation among the resident families of the area due to the damage this would cause to the ecosystem of the area in the immediate future. According to Antonio Marte, more than 200 tasks have been affected, with the massive cutting of pine trees that are not part of private property, but rather surround community lands, causing serious environmental damage, and they stated that this ecological crime continues to occur, despite the fact that various complaints have been sent to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources. The congressman clamored before the authorities to go to the area and stop as soon as possible, what he defined as a massive crime against a part of that mountain range, where "everyone who goes does whatever they want and no government authority intervenes".

"I am tired of making these complaints and nobody listens to me, and it's a shame that, being this such a delicate case and one that concerns us all, no government authority has been interested in resolving it," the congressman pointed out.

He maintained that, just as they dismantle large forested areas for timber or subsistence farming, they are also destroying the beds of rivers and streams, criminally extracting aggregates, right under the noses of the authorities.

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The same problem was also exposed during a peaceful demonstration, in which the community members showed clear evidence of the damage caused, including cut trunks, deforested areas, and tree remains, which puts at risk the ecological balance, the stability of the terrain, and the well-being of present and future generations.

During the conflict, Mr. Manuel Báez, in a program broadcast on the YouTube platform, publicly stated that he owns land in the area and that, after acquiring it, he moved to the United States due to military commitments. In said intervention, he expressed that, as a result of the situation in Venezuela, he remained active to retake his lands.

He also declared that one of his daughters belongs to the CIA, assuring that she holds the highest rank within the agency and participated in the capture of Nicolás Maduro; likewise, he affirmed that he has a son who is a major general in the United States. According to his own words, he recounted that his children had warned him: "Dad, we have problems, because there will be two or three invasions that will be seen very soon", pointing out that, due to their closeness, especially his daughter to high-level political figures in the United States and due to the role of his son directing personnel under his command, they would be willing to intervene. Báez stated that his children told him that, if necessary, they would go to the disputed lands and that they could use an incendiary bomb "so that not even the root remains", adding that, in his opinion, the situation "is going downhill" and that no person should remain on what he considers family heritage. The communities clarified that they do not question legally acquired private property, but denounced that Mr. Báez had proceeded to fell pine trees outside the limits of his land, appropriating natural resources that do not belong to him, affecting protected and community use areas. Faced with this situation, Senator for the province of Santiago Rodríguez, Antonio Marte, echoed the popular clamor and directly supported the communities, siding with his people and requesting an immediate and transparent intervention by the competent authorities, especially the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, for an investigation.