SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� Puerto Rico鈥檚 new natural resources secretary has shelved an investigation into allegations of illegal construction in a protected area on the island鈥檚 southwest coast, sparking an outcry.
The administrative order published late Thursday comes after Gov. Jenniffer Gonz谩lez, last week, called the investigation that began under the previous administration 鈥減olitical persecution.鈥�
The investigation targeted alleged violators including Gonz谩lez鈥檚 in-laws, who are accused of illegally cutting mangroves and expanding and remodeling a platform or dock at their home at La Parguera, which was designated a natural reserve in 1979 and is known for its bioluminescent bay.
Gonz谩lez and her in-laws - Jos茅 Vargas and Irma Llavona - have denied the accusations.
On Thursday, Gonz谩lez named Waldemar Quiles as Puerto Rico鈥檚 new natural resources secretary as she claimed the investigation was part of a 鈥減olitical process鈥� that occurred last year ahead of her party鈥檚 primaries, , who was seeking a second term. Pierluisi has previously denied it was an alleged political attack.
Quiles's first administrative order was to shelve the investigation and, among other things, legalize the presence of homes in La Parguera via a fee owners must pay every five years.
鈥淭hat is illegal,鈥� said Pedro Saad茅, a Puerto Rican attorney and expert in environmental law, who noted there鈥檚 a required procedure to grant concessions on public domain assets.
鈥淗ow are you, as your first act, going to exempt from scratch and in a broad way, a whole line of illegal uses of public domain assets?鈥� Saad茅 said of the secretary鈥檚 move.
In a phone interview, he said he worried the order would set a precedent and roll back protections for other areas in Puerto Rico .
The first infrastructures were built in La Parguera around the 1960s, with fishermen living in ramshackle houses that have largely been replaced by high-end homes that environmentalists say must be removed.
The investigation, which proposed a $25,000 penalty against Gonz谩lez鈥檚 in-laws, was led by former natural resources secretary Ana铆s Rodr铆guez. She told WKAQ radio station last year that the investigation against Gonz谩lez鈥檚 in-laws should continue under the new administration.
On Friday, Puerto Rico Senate President Thomas Rivera Schatz wrote on Facebook that the Senate will ask Quiles to explain his administrative order. He wrote that remedies to avoid 鈥渟elective prosecution鈥� require 鈥渃aution, transparency and firmness so as to avoid falling into what could appear, be perceived or in effect be a selective benefit or privilege.鈥�
A spokesman for Puerto Rico鈥檚 Natural Resources Department did not immediately comment.
In written statements provided to El Nuevo D铆a newspaper on Friday, Quiles said his administrative order had been prepared by the previous administration and that it recognizes the acquired rights of those with homes in La Parguera and establishes responsibilities with which they must comply.
D谩nica Coto, The Associated Press
