A serious complaint against Dennis Berdugo has been exposed: Will PATU keep him in such a sensitive position?

An official email signed by Olympic referee Marcelo Rezende has been exposed, denouncing serious conflicts of interest involving Dennis Berdugo at a G2 event in 2022. Although he was removed from the coordination of Poomsae, he continues to hold power in PATU as Director of Sport and member of the Executive Council. With the President’s Cup in Lima just around the corner—and with his children already registered as competitors—the question is inevitable: what decision will the leadership make?

Report – Costa Rica Open G2

An email signed by Brazilian referee Marcelo Rezende—an Olympic referee in Paris 2024 and a leading figure in international refereeing—has once again put Dennis Berdugo’s actions within the structure of the Pan American Taekwondo Union (PATU) under scrutiny. The document, dated 2022 and addressed to the president and secretary general of the institution, describes in detail a series of episodes that directly compromise Berdugo: a change of court that benefited his daughter, the unilateral withdrawal of coaches without following the chain of command, and the relaxation of the use of the PSS system in a match involving an athlete from his academies. According to the communication, there were formal complaints from several countries, demonstrating that this was not an isolated incident.

At the time, Berdugo was serving as PATU’s Poomsae coordinator, a position from which he was removed after questions were raised by referees, coaches, and delegates who denounced his negative influence on technical meetings and pre-competition training sessions. However, he did not leave the organization: he currently holds the position of Director of Sport at PATU, with responsibility for the preparation of technical manuals, outlines and operational guidelines for events, and was also appointed as a member of the Executive Council in the last elections. His level of influence, therefore, remains high.

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A past that is once again an issue

Beyond its age, this document signed by Rezende takes on relevance in the current context. In Asunción 2025, MASTKD documented how Berdugo reproduced similar behaviors, with decisions marked by conflicts of interest that broke the uniformity of refereeing criteria and generated mistrust in the process.

The combination of this background with recent controversies fuels the central question: is Berdugo’s continued presence in PATU’s technical and management structure sustainable?

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The President’s Cup in Lima in the spotlight

The immediate concern falls on the WT President’s Cup – Pan Am, scheduled for September 4-7 at the VIDENA complex in Lima, Peru. The competition — category G-3 in Kyorugi and Poomsae — is the most important event on the continent after the Pan American Championships (G-4), with a direct impact on the ranking and planning of national teams.

The technical roster is usually published in advance, and what is now causing doubts among coaches and referees is whether Berdugo’s name will appear on it. His dual role—as director of Sport and member of the Executive Council—gives him influence over the operational setup. Added to this is a sensitive piece of information: his own children are already registered as competitors in the President’s Cup in Lima, which amplifies concerns about impartiality.

The institutional decision on his presence (or absence) will be interpreted as a signal about the standards of integrity and governance that PATU intends to convey on the international circuit.

What is at stake

Beyond individual names, the focus of the debate is trust in the administration of events. Claims of discretion, conflicts of interest, and the absence of clear control protocols have undermined the uniformity of the system in recent competitions.

The PATU leadership, headed by its president and secretary general, has already received formal warnings in the past, and its subsequent actions demonstrate that responsibility lies with Berdugo’s personal conduct. The expectation now is that the institution will strengthen control mechanisms:

Uniform criteria in the application of manuals and outlines.
Respect for the refereeing chain of command.
Transparency in the appointment of area officials.

In a G-3 event of continental magnitude, organizational consistency is as decisive as the sporting result itself.

The controversy surrounding Dennis Berdugo is not an isolated incident, but a sequence of documented precedents that compromise PATU’s image and confidence in its processes. At this point, the signals sent to the international circuit are as important as the technical aspect of the event.