The Colombian government announced Tuesday that it had managed to recover almost a million acres of stolen land using the Victims and Land Restitution Law.
Colombia’s Superintendent of Notaries and Registries, Jorge Enrique Velez, said the authorities would examine how people came into the land, and would bring prosecutions if “irregularities” were found.
The government wants to establish if people presenting themselves as “owners” of the land had used paramilitaries or guerrillas to gain control, or if public officials had helped them get it fraudulently.
The 918, 421 acres of land was recovered in San Martin, Meta department; Uraba, Antioquia and Cordoba departments; and Montes de Maria, Bolivar department.
Velez said charges would be brought against 22 officials on December 22 for stealing land from farmers in Carmen de Bolivar, Bolivar department.
The there were another 618,000 acres that the government had been unable to recover due to legal complications.
