In Cartagena de Indias, the theft and illegal occupation of land is making a name for itself in areas such as the islands of Barú and Tierrabomba, but the attention of the Attorney General’s Office is especially noticeable that this problem is marked in the north of the city, on the road that connects Cartagena with Barranquilla; It is the area with the greatest urban projection in the nationwhere they advance hotel and housing projects for strata 5, 6 and 7.
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Today, corregimientos like Arroyo Hondo, Punta Canoa or Arroyo de las Canoas are targeted by illegal squatters.
The northern area of Cartagena and Playa Blanca,
in Barú, they are in the crosshairs of the invaders
Guilds call to close Playa Blanca and expel the invaders, most of them foreigners and from the interior of the country; otherwise the environmental scenario will disappear.
John Montaño- WEATHER
In the public hearing on the invasion of lands in Bolívar and Cartagena convened by the Office of the Attorney General of the Nation in the capital of Bolívar, the Attorney Margarita Cabello heard and received fifty complaints from the voices of lawyers and communities.
“They arrive in four-door vans, they arrive armed and very quickly they set up tents, they are located, and in one night a thousand people can be installed quickly,” says the head of the Public Ministry, who heard the complaints from the island of Barú, for example, where unscrupulous people have wanted to disappear the legal history of the Santana farm, which had been handed over to Afro communities, but which was the object of illegal invasions.
Many of the land thefts are complicity with public officials such as police inspectors, notaries, registrars, office secretaries and even judges of the Republic.
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“Unfortunately this is a situation that occurs throughout the country, which is why we are in several regions and they keep calling us. It is a long-standing issue, due to neglect and slow attention because it is a complex issue but also due to fears, because there are groups that appropriate land and sell it quickly, which generates high enrichment because it is land of high value” , added the head of the Public Ministry.
The attorney also listened to the protagonists of the old land lawsuit where the Santo Domingo Foundation is carrying out a project for social interest housing, but for which a family claims titles in the south of the city.
“When initiating these processes, what we do is, for example, we call the judicial branch and say ‘beware that we have accusations against these judges’, ‘these guardianships should not exist’. We called notaries and registers and evidenced those complaints that we are receiving today,” added Cabello, who insisted: “The police must carry out the procedures in the first 48 hours of an occupation and expel those illegal occupants.”
Results in Atlantic
In the department of Atlántico this exercise has already been carried out and the head of the Public Ministry delivered the results.
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“In the department of Atlántico we already have the dismissal of the Registrar, suspension of notaries, opening of investigations against secretaries and judges, the Prosecutor’s Office joined and is conducting investigations, which has reduced illegal occupations. We have 17 ongoing investigations and we are giving results. In Cartagena and Bolívar we are going to initiate the same articulation with the prosecutor’s office and we are going to review all the evidence provided by the complainants and they will initiate the calls to other responsible institutions”, concluded the Attorney General.
John Montano
EL TIEMPO correspondent
Cartagena
On twitter: @KitePilot
