SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico, September 20, 2024 (ENS) – It was an unlucky Friday the 13th last week for two Puerto Rican men who were sentenced for their destruction, removal and fill of protected wetlands in Puerto Rico in violation of the Clean Water Act.
U.S. District Court Judge Gina Mendez-Miro for the District of Puerto Rico sentenced Rafael Carballo-Diaz, 51, to 12 months in prison, one year of supervised release and a $4,000 fine.
According to court documents, starting in July 2020, Carballo-Diaz destroyed, removed and filled mangrove wetland areas within and around the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Las Mareas, Puerto Rico.
Despite lacking a permit, he filled the area with quarry material, gated the area, placed at least six mobile housing units on the property and added a pool. He then named the property “Cacique Resort” and rented the units online as short-term vacation properties.
Nathaniel Hernandez-Claudio, property manager at Carballo-Diaz’s Cacique Resort, was sentenced by Judge Mendez-Miro to 12 months of probation for his role in filling the property. Both Carballo-Diaz and Hernandez-Claudio were indicted in December 2023, and pleaded guilty in July of this year.
Mangrove wetlands, such as those destroyed by the defendants, are critical to local infrastructure, economies and ecosystems because they can limit damage from flooding and storms, reduce pollution and provide habitat for numerous marine and endangered species.
The Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve was designated as a reserve in 1981 to protect the wetlands and study the biological and societal impacts of estuarine habitat, as well as provide recreation and educational opportunities to local communities.
The 2,883 acre reserve is located on the southern coast of Puerto Rico, between the towns of Guayama and Salinas.
The wetland is inhabited by endangered brown pelicans, peregrine falcons, hawksbill turtles, and West Indian manatees.
This reserve encompasses parts of Mar Negro and Cayos Caribe, a linear formation of 15 tear-shaped, reef fringed, mangrove islands extending west from the southern tip of the mouth of Jobos Bay. The bay supports extensive healthy sea grass beds, and this reserve also includes extensive upland dry forests, lagoons, seagrass beds. It is commercially important for marine recreation, commercial and recreational fishing, and ecotourism.
Congress enacted the Clean Water Act in 1972 to protect and maintain the integrity of the waters of the United States. It prohibits the discharge of any pollutant and fill material into waters of the United States except when a permit is obtained.
This case is part of an ongoing investigation into the destruction of wetlands in Puerto Rico. Previously charged individuals include Luis Enrique Rodriguez-Sanchez, sentenced in June; Awildo Jimenez-Mercado sentenced on September 11; and Pedro Luis Bones-Torres, scheduled to be sentenced on November 7.
The Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI investigated the case, with support from the Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands Environmental Crimes Task Force.
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