Thieves who stole an entire bay in Dominican Republic might get away with it

Santo Domingo.- Pedernales province (southwest) senator Dionis Sanchez on Sunday announced a "consensus" reached with titleholders in the area of ??Bahia de las Aguilas, for which in the next few days president Danilo Medina will disclose agreements the lawmaker called vital to develop the region.

The announcement could confirm fears in many sectors that those who stole government lands in one of the biggest scandals of the 1990s, would get away with it.

"But we want to let president Medina make the announcement to the country in the coming days. Pedernales is waiting and hopes to know that we’re nearing a solution to this more than 15-year conflict and has emasculated this province’s development," the senator said.

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Quoted by diariolibre.com, Sanchez said there’s an agreement between the Government and those who claim controversial ownership in the state-owned lands at Bahia de las Aguilas, within the Jaragua National Park, known for its spectacular ecotourism attractions. In 2004 however, its status was changed to "Protected Panorama” of the subcategory National Recreation Area, under much fewer restrictions.

Medina reportedly issued special powers to his Legal adviser Cesar Pina Toribio, to make the agreement possible, including dropping the charges against former officials and their associates who claim ownership and which led to indictments and scandal during the late president Joaquin Balaguer’s last term (1994-1996).

The government’s decision aims to attract investors willing to develop tourism projects in the country’s south region, for which more than half of the money raised from the land sales would be given to those with titles in the area.