SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) 鈥� new natural resources secretary has shelved an investigation into allegations of illegal construction in a protected area , sparking an outcry.
The administrative order, published late on Thursday, comes after , 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 鈥� Jos茅 Vargas and Irma Llavona 鈥� have denied the accusations.
On Thursday, Gonz谩lez named Waldemar Quiles as Puerto Rico鈥檚 new natural resources secretary. She said that the investigation was part of a 鈥減olitical process鈥� that occurred last year before Gonz谩lez's party鈥檚 primaries, in which she beat former . Pierluisi has previously denied that 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 that 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 that 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 that he worried that the order would set a precedent and roll back protections for other areas in Puerto Rico as it struggles with a .
On Friday, the president of the Sierra Club's Puerto Rico chapter, Hernaliz V谩zquez called on officials to rescind Quiles's nomination as natural resources secretary and criticized his order.
鈥淭his action is a direct affront against environmental protection and justice," V谩zquez said. 鈥淚t is unacceptable that the secretary ... whose mission should be to safeguard our natural resources, uses his position to benefit the governor鈥檚 in-laws.鈥�
鈥淩etroactively legalizing constructions that have negatively impacted a protected nature reserve is not only irresponsible, it is illegal,鈥� V谩zquez added.
The first structures were built in La Parguera around the 1960s, with fishermen living in ramshackle houses that have largely been replaced by high-end homes that environmentalists say must be removed.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�
In written statements made public Friday, Quiles said that 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.
鈥淭his way, we end the legal limbo that has lasted for decades, which has been detrimental to both the owners of the residences in La Parguera and the government of Puerto Rico.鈥� he said
D谩nica Coto, The Associated Press
