President Rodrigo Chaves spoke about the case of alleged illegal logging in Gandoca Manzanillo. Chaves minimized the facts, arguing that “only 23 trees were cut.” “The scandal with which they want to distract the population, talking about 23 trees that were cut down with permits on a property of 26 hectares, that is the ecological disaster that the Frente Amplio and all those shout about to distract you from the real disaster in Crucitas,” he said.
Likewise, President Chaves avoided mentioning that these logging permits are under investigation by the Public Prosecutor’s Office and that five people were arrested last week. This is not the first time that Chaves has defended the permits issued to this company.
“The permit is in order; we have investigated it. It complies with all our procedures to grant a forest harvesting permit,” the President stated in a press conference.
The Environmental Prosecutor’s Office suspects that several irregularities were committed to change the land use in the forest and wetlands areas, with the purpose of carrying out urban constructions. Among those arrested is businessman Allan Pacheco Dent, who has been linked to Chaves’ administration and political campaign.
Other governmental authorities such as Attorney General Iván Vincenti warned that deforestation could be taking place inside the protected area. According to a note sent by Vincenti to the Constitutional Chamber, the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) granted tree-cutting permits to the company Manzanillo S. A., represented by Pacheco Dent, despite the fact that, in the plans that gave rise to the titling of the land, “there is evidence of its presumed location within the refuge.”
At least three documents from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR) have indicated to the National System of Conservation Areas (SINAC) that it must restore the original limits of the refuge. However, to date, SINAC has not done so.
The Environmental Prosecutor’s Office is investigating alleged irregularities in the issuance of logging permits on a farm owned by Playa Manzanillo, S.A. in Talamanca, on land located within the hectares that were under the declaration of Gandoca Manzanillo Refuge until Law 9223 was approved in 2014.
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