Pedro Menéndez Sanabria (El Vocero) writes about ongoing investigations into illegal building and destruction of the ecosystem in La Parguera Nature Reserve, in Lajas, Puerto Rico. Part of the investigation deals with ascertaining how these constructions have services including electricity, running water, and telephone lines on land that has been denominated is a Nature Reserve. Secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, Anaís Rodríguez Vega, underlined that “for 50 years they stood idly by and turned their heads away in La Parguera” but cases are being investigated and guilty parties will suffer consequences.

Anaís Rodríguez Vega, secretary of the Department of Natural and Environmental Resources [Departamento de Recursos Naturales y Ambientales (DRNA)] reported yesterday that she has several active investigations into constructions in the maritime-terrestrial zone in the La Parguera Nature Reserve, in Lajas, which have led to the seizure of materials.

Among the investigations is that of a series of constructions on a property located on Paseo los Guayacanes road whose owner, according to the digital cadaster of the Municipal Revenue Collection Center (CRIM), is José del Carmen Vargas, father-in-law of Resident Commissioner Jenniffer González Colón.

[. . .] “It is an open secret that people build at night and from the inside out. To be able to enter these properties, we need court orders, and to address the problem, we need more guards for the areas; for that, we are in the process,” said the head of the DRNA.

She acknowledged that, despite the fact that the agency recently appointed 75 new officers to the Ranger Corps [Cuerpo de Vigilantes], none have been assigned to Lajas, which only has 12 officers.

When questioned about the fact that several of these alleged environmental crimes occur near a headquarters of the Guard Corps of the agency she leads, the secretary mentioned that “to think that the guards can be vigilant 24-7 in all the beaches is unreal.”

Regarding the specific situation in La Parguera, Rodríguez Vega confirmed that currently “there are assets on five cases” in addition to the investigation that was carried out on the property of the resident commissioner’s relative, in which a technical report from the agency pointed out that there were mangroves cut down to the trunk and improperly pruned.”

“Any person who violates the DRNA law or regulation is exposed to administrative fines, restoration requests, and other types of measures,” added Rodríguez Vega, who did not rule out that in some of these cases, the demolition of the structure will be requested. [. . .]

They have destroyed two thirds of the mangroves

For his part, the president of the non-profit environmental organization Para la Naturaleza and executive director of the Puerto Rico Conservation Trust, Fernando Lloveras San Miguel, expressed concern about the situation in La Parguera, whose reserve is within the 38,000 acres of natural value that the entity protects.

“Our analyzes have shown that we have destroyed two thirds of our mangroves. Now we are realizing the importance of these ecosystems,” warned the expert.

Lloveras San Miguel stressed the need to plant mangroves in La Parguera and in other areas of the coastal zone. “The mangroves are protecting us and are important for our fishing capacity, since they serve as nurseries for many fish and crustaceans. We are concerned that something will be destroyed while we are in the process of recovering that valuable ecosystem,” insisted the manager.

As for the actions that the Trust has taken to prevent the destruction of the mangroves in La Parguera, Lloveras San Miguel highlighted that “we do what we can, at the juridical or legal level. We have been very firm with that.”

Feds do not rule out taking action

On the other hand, the spokesperson for the local office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Limary Cruz Rubio, did not rule out that the agency may initiate an investigation into environmental crimes that have taken place in that coastal area. [. . .]

[Photo by Rocío Fernández, El Vocero.]

Excerpts translated by Ivette Romero. For full article (in Spanish), see https://www.elvocero.com/gobierno/agencias/incautaciones-y-querellas-por-construcciones-en-la-parguera/article_aa2885e0-1c4c-11ee-a1b4-2bb232ed2fa9.html

Also see https://www.noticel.com/gobierno/ahora/la-calle/top-stories/20230706/secretaria-del-drna-intervendra-sin-miedo-contra-construcciones-ilegales-en-reservas-naturales/, https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/gobierno/notas/drna-corroboro-danos-ambientales-en-la-parguera-por-construccion-en-casa-de-familia-del-esposo-de-jenniffer-gonzalez/ and https://www.elnuevodia.com/noticias/gobierno/notas/drna-corroboro-danos-ambientales-en-la-parguera-por-construccion-en-casa-de-familia-del-esposo-de-jenniffer-gonzalez/