Ortega Allows “Invasion” in Wildlife Refuge in Río San Juan
Local officials allow land sales, illegal mining, and the deforestation of thousands of acres, according to the study done by the “Fundacion del Rio.”
HAVANA TIMES – Thousands of acres of the Rio San Juan Wildlife Refuge, on the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, have been illegally occupied for the construction of housing and for illegal mining. According to an investigation by the Fundacion del Rio [“River Foundation”], an NGO the Ortega regime has outlawed in Nicaragua, this invasion is promoted by local functionaries loyal to the regime.
The study, entitled “Environmental evaluation of the Rio San Juan Wildlife Refuge,” reveals that 32% of the forest has been invaded by land colonists. More specifically: 24,449 acres have been deforested, and another 9,553 have been “burnt” as the result of forest fires and intentional burns for agriculture.
According to the report, the “invasion” of the wildlife preserve is: “induced, promoted, and fomented” by local FSLN political leaders from the municipalities of El Castillo and Bluefields.
The Fundacion del Rio points to several people as “presumably responsible” for the invasion: “Valerio Lopez, former employee of the El Castillo mayor’s office, and Gladys Sanchez Mondragon, current FSLN political secretary in the same municipality.” Both these figures “promoted the organization of people close to the Party to settle on the Reserve lands.”
When the families arrive at the Refuge, they’re received by “Mr. Noel Paz, the FSLN political leader of that sector, and Denis Alfonso, the coordinator,” the report states. These two citizens, “thank Comandante Daniel Ortega and compañera Rosario Murillo each time they receive the people who arrive at this wilderness zone,” the document highlights.
Sale of lands belonging to the wildlife refuge
The report goes on to detail that Paz and Alfonso, arrange the political endorsements, look for interested parties, and place people in the zone. They also inform these citizens that “there are no legal titles for these lands,” so that “the only guarantee is to remain permanently, so that they’re not taken away from you.”
The participation of the regime’s political functionaries, “has allowed the illegal trafficking of lands in the zone, an increase of over 55% in the infrastructure within the refuge, and a 49% rise in the population located in the zone,” the document alleges.
According to Amaru Ruiz, Fundacion del Rio’s director: “each person who desires a small farm must pay 15,000 cordobas [US $407], be it in quotas or some other payment arrangement. These people then receive a little over 86 acres. “All of the land distributed, “the report continues, “is forestland; hence they deforest it to establish fields for growing basic grains.”
The ecologist commented that the increase in the population in the refuge generates “a greater demand for services, such as education and health on the Costa Rican side” of the border.
Illegal mining within the refuge
The Fundacion del Rio investigation also denounces the illegal mining activity taking place at least 36 kilometers (22 miles) within the Rio San Juan Wildlife Refuge. This situation has generated the opening of access roads towards the Indio Maiz reserve, plus commercial traffic in mercury, cyanide, drugs, and other inputs to supply the extraction sites located in Las Cruces and Crucitas, on the Costa Rican side,
“The miners disembark in the refuge, then walk three or four kilometers until they reach the [extraction] points. There are also people dedicated only to transporting merchandise towards Indio Maiz,” the report describes.
“Different sites along the river’s edge in the refuge serve as cargo ports for unloading the consumer products that come mainly from the city of El Castillo,” the report’s authors state.
Ruiz emphasized that the infrastructure constructed along the banks of the San Juan River is frequently used to evade the raids conducted on the Costa Rican side. This has greatly complicated the efforts of the Costa Rican Police Force to stop the mining activity.
“When the Costa Rican authorities conduct raids, the miners cross over to the refuge to hide out. This dynamic has facilitated some people’s decision to settle permanently in the refuge and carry out the work that’s illegal on the Costa Rican side, while based on the Nicaraguan side of the river,” the activist explained.
The investigation also denounced the illegal looting and commercialization of the refuge’s flora and fauna. It warned that the invaders extract some protected species then sell them on the Costa Rican side. Additionally, the NGO warned that activities such as sport fishing and dredging in the mouth of the river, are being conducted on the San Juan River, “without any feasibility or environmental impact statements.”
“The Ortega-Murillo regime has managed its dredging actions with little transparency. This has caused great concern, both for the environmental problems this could cause the refuge, and for the border problems that could be caused by the lack of information on the project,” Ruiz stated.
Similarly, the Fundacion del Rio noted that the work of the [Nicaraguan] Ministry of the Environment and Natural Resources in the refuge has been “deficient,” since they maintain an outdated Management Plan, don’t meet the obligations established by the refuge’s international category, and don’t levy any type of sanction on those who commit environmental crimes.
First published in Spanish by Confidencial and translated and posted in English by Havana Times.