Dominican Republic deals blow to forgers, recovers pristine beach

Santo Domingo.- Dominican Republic’s Land Court on Monday ruled to void all land titles in the hands of individuals for southwestern Bahia de las Aguilas beach, at the core of the country’s biggest land fraud case ever.

Justice minister Francisco Domínguez called the ruling a "triumph of the justice system."

"It has been a great work of many valuable people who believed and believe in their country, to keep #BahiadelasAguilas case in the spotlight for so many years," Domínguez said on Twitter.

"#BahiadelasAguilas is an example that perseverance and the pursuit of truth yield their fruits, with so many people placing their blood on it,” the official said.

The case began in 1994 when then Agrarian Reform Institute (IAD) director Jaime Rodriguez Guzman and codefendants forged titles of property by establishing a subsistence farming project on the more than 30 square kilometers of barren lands, with more than seven kilometers of pristine beach.