30,000 acres of Tayrona Park 'stolen' over 26 years

[Judi Lynn]

30,000 acres of Tayrona Park 'stolen' over 26 years
Thursday, 01 December 2011 09:41
Tim Hinchliffe

http://colombiareports.com.nyud.net:8090/pics/tourism/tayrona.jpg

Almost 30,000 acres of Tayrona National Park were illegally appropriated over 26 years, said Colombian authorities Thursday.

Investigations by Colombia's Notary and Registry Superintendent indicate that vast areas of state land were misappropriated -- improperly registered as belonging to, or bought by, other people -- then sold back to the government at a profit.

Superintendent Jorge Enrique Velez claimed that park lands were extended from 988 acres to 4,200 acres "out of nowhere" in 1985. The territory was suspiciously deeded in the town of Santa Marta, using a technique known as the "clarification of boundaries" to establish property ownership.

This year the Colombian government has recovered 1.6 million acres of Tayrona Park land that was occupied by private entities, and that number is projected to reach nearly 5 million acres next year.

http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/20821-land-theft-in-colombias-tayrona-park-began-26-yrs-ago-govt.html

[Judi Lynn]

1. Tayrona mega-hotel project rejected

Tayrona mega-hotel project rejected
Tuesday, 25 October 2011 14:04
Tim Hinchliffe

Colombia's government rejected Tuesday the proposal to build a seven-star mega-hotel in Tayrona National Park.

The project was scrapped after a meeting between President Juan Manuel Santos and Environment Minister Frank Pearl revealed that members of Santos' family may have been involved in the project's development.

According to RCN Radio, Pearl indicated that his decision came "following information that two of the president's relatives, Mr. Felipe Santos and former Vice President Francisco Santos, had participated a few years ago in various conversations related to the potential project."

~snip~
Francisco Santos, who is currently the director of RCN Morning News, said, "Yes. There was a meeting with the company, because part of our work was investor confidence, but there are no family interests in this project."

More:
http://colombiareports.com/travel-in-colombia/caribbean/19938-mega-hotel-project-rejected-in-tayrona.html

[Judi Lynn]

2. Officials complicit in massive land theft: Colombian govt .

Officials complicit in massive land theft: Colombian govt .
Monday, 17 October 2011 09:34 Travis Mannon

Colombian officials were complicit in allowing illegal armed groups, landowners, and private companies to steal about 100,000 acres of land, displacing its previous occupants, according to a government report.

~snip~
In early September, Congressman Ivan Cepeda took advantage of a house debate on land restitution to call for an investigation into ex-President Alvaro Uribe’s role in land sales.

Cepeda denounced Uribe for “influence peddling” over his rulings in the cases of allocating 185,329 acres of land to 25 companies in the Montes de Maria mountains.

~snip~
"The Montes de Maria are in the power of friends of ex-president Uribe,” Cepeda argued.

More:
http://colombiareports.com/colombia-news/news/19717-colombian-govt-complicit-in-100000-acres-stolen-from-displaced-report.html