whats going on in La Ciénaga today???

[windeguy]

just like anywhere else. Squatters are given an opportunity to leave or they are arrested for trespassing, just as it should be.

If that were true, then virtually ALL of La Cienega would be gone.

Over the past years when a very corrupt mayor was in charge of Cabarete, hundreds if not thousands of trucks were used to fill in the swamp where thousands of people now live. Yes it is thousands. The mayor then accepted payment for issuing "titles" to those "properties" which are actually on a government park that is environmentally protected wetlands. Go figure, but this is the DR.

There was talk years ago of moving them out, but the PLD was so corrupt nothing ever happened. That infamous mayor eventually was jailed over his many and various crimes, but too little and too late for La Cienaga which has grown to about 4,000 people give or take a thousand. It is a substantial number and I can only guess from Google Satellite photos by the sheer number of houses stacked side by side into the swamp.

What happened yesterday was because the government built a "canal" to stop this illegal sprawl. Some people built on the now "forbidden" side of the canal and they are the ones who were very forcibly evicted:

Cabarete Sano W.A. | Cabarete

Cabarete Sano W.A., Cabarete, República Dominicana. 43,181 likes · 213 talking about this. creador

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At the end of the video you can hear the government helicopter flying into the playing field in La Cianaga that happened around 10 AM during the "Festivities" shown in the video on Facebook. There are other videos with the mayor of Cabarete explaining this came from the President of the DR.

 

[windeguy]

Where on the North Coast is this area? I can only find one with this name in the south of the country?

Inland between Kite Beach and Encuentro on the center and below in this satellite view:

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[windeguy]

I don't know, but this isn't the first time I've heard of the government or private owners suddenly booting people out of their houses.

About 10 years ago, a very large machine was used to remove virtually every house on the ocean side of the road west of Kite Beach for about 2 Km. There were a large number of squatters homes destroyed to rubble in one day and within two weeks all traces were gone. It was a massive operation, warning was provided, and tear gas was used to clear the people away. That area just coincidentally happens to be directly north of the current situation happening in La Cineaga. Note there are still very few properties along the ocean in the region years after the clearing. That area can be seen at the oceans edges at the center of this map:

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[windeguy]

A couple years ago Edenorte went into La Cienaga and the Callejon and put meters on all houses. They couldn't care less about your title. If you were using their electric - you were going to pay.

A few year before that they tried to put meters in La Cienaga and were driven out by the squatters living there. Eventually, they got most of the meters installed and upgraded the power on that circuit to 24/7 from 10 to 12 hours of power per day. Trade offs.

 

[windeguy]

It's between Sosúa and Cabarete, very close to Cabarete.

It is actually Cabarete. You mean close to Cabarete center which is about 2 Km to the east of La Cienaga. .

Cabarete runs all the way up to the area near Super Pola. Even Sosua Ocean Village is technically in Cabarete.
It can get confusing because Cabarete is a part of the Municipio of Sosua.....

 

[windeguy]

I agree,.but I think those are more North American sentiments. I think most Doms don't see it as a big deal.

Case in point: Playa Sosua. Prime real estate, and no secret to the family that owns it that they have squatters. They have a whole village of squatters. The owner will deal with it when neccessary. Meanwhile .they're left alone.

Did you recall when the squatters in El Tablon were evicted? They had a lovely view of Sosua Bay.

The majority of shacks in La Cienaga are on government protected wetlands that were not well protected by the former mayor, who filled in the swamp, nor the PLD when all those shacks were allowed to be built. It got worse when the squatters on the ocean side of that area were evicted very forcibly about 10 years ago.

 

[windeguy]

"Playa Sosua. Prime real estate, and no secret to the family that owns it that they have squatters. "? What do you mean? Playa Sosúa is privately owned? I always had the understanding that it's government own, as it's public.

All beaches are public along with the land from high tide 60 meters back. That said, if private owners own all of the land that can be used to access that beach, those owners are not obligated to provide a right of way to that beach. You could arrive by sea and use the beach, but the owners still might take issue with that. Case in point is the small beach in Seahorse Ranch. Another case in point is the situation at Encuentro in Cabarete where access to the beach and the vendors shacks have been under dispute for the past few years.

 

[windeguy]

Here are some comments from a person on the wrong side of the law at La Cienaga, Cabarete yesterday:

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[windeguy]

When you think about it, the real lowlifes are the ones who do it for political/financial gains. I agree most of the rest are just trying to deal with limited resources.

Consider the former Mayor of Cabarete at the top of that list. He filled in the government protected wetlands and allowed thousands to live there while profiting handsomely.

 

[windeguy]

This article, already referenced above calls this "the start" of clearing the area. Perhaps many more houses will be destroyed in the near future?

And it describes exactly what I mentioned on how the wetlands were unscrupulously filled in for year and "title" sold. This does not seem to be just about the 200 houses removed yesterday, but time will tell on that. Most of those shacks that house thousands of people are actually part of that public park and protected wetlands of Parque Nacional El Choco:

Medio Ambiente inicia desocupación de área protegida Lagunas Cabarete y Goleta en Puerto Plata

En el operativo realizado por el SENPA se busca retirar más de 200 casas construidas ilegalmente en esa zona

www.diariolibre.com

Environment begins to vacate the protected area Lagunas Cabarete and Goleta in Puerto Plata In the operation carried out by SENPA seeks to remove more than 200 houses built illegally in that area Marvin del Cid - CABARETE 02/18/2021, 04:13 PM star Save Comment

Share The Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources reported in a press release that it began the vacating of the Laguna Cabarete y Goleta Natural Monument (Choco) with the removal of more than 200 homes that have been illegally erected on this protected area of vital water importance And for the biodiversity of this province. The operation is being carried out by members of the National Environmental Protection Service (SENPA) after several months of coordination that included intelligence work and support from more than 10 state institutions following orders from the minister, Orlando Jorge Mera. The intervention was carried out after showing that for several unscrupulous years they have been given the task of burning and filling the aforementioned wetlands with various materials to later sell these lots on which homes are built.

This occupation and attack against natural resources constitutes a violation of Law 64-00 on the Environment and Sector Law 202-04 on Protected Areas. “The Lagunas Cabarete y Goleta Natural Monument is not a private area. These are assets of the entire Dominican people, whose integrity must be preserved by mandate of the Law to the Ministry of the Environment and that is precisely what we are doing, taking care of everyone's resources, ”explained Minister Orlando Jorge Mera. The areas intervened during the operation are located in the vicinity of the La Ciénaga, Coconopán and La Cueva de Cabarete sectors. The operation is carried out as part of the 'Phase I Environmental Rescue' Plan, which seeks to vacate the protected areas that have been violated. To respect the human dignity of the occupants and the success of the operation, it is carried out together with personnel from the Ministry of Defense, the National Police; Ministry of Public Health; Air Force; Dominican Navy; National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI); Specialized Attorney for the Defense of the Environment; Prosecutor's Office for Children and Adolescents; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC); General Directorate of Migration (DGM); National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INDHRI) and Mayors of Puerto Plata and Cabarete. Civil Defense personnel also participate. 'A very important part in the operations arranged by the Environment is to preserve the integrity and dignity of people and act under due legal procedure, that is why we are accompanied by various institutions that ensure respect for Human rights ”, highlighted the minister. The Laguna Cabarete y Goleta Natural Monument (Choco), consists of approximately 77.5 km2 and is part of those places that have been declared highly threatened worldwide and worthy of special protection, as it is home to great varieties of species and biodiversity. The place serves as a habitat for endemic and migratory birds, as well as various trees.

 

[windeguy]

Latest news is they are using a backhoe to delineate the area where people cannot build. "Drawing a line in the sand" which cannot be crossed .

Instead, the rest of the illegal non-title properties should be removed, but there is no current will to do that it seems. But at least no more can be built.

 

[josh2203]

I also have experience with squatters too. All of it in Haiti and all of them single moms with no place to go. None of them were low lifes, which is the reason I responded.

Your example and others above shows that sometimes this is the case. My example shows that sometimes it's not.

Yes, you have a point here, I agree. Other than that news etc, I have no idea how are things in Haiti, but based on just that, I'd imagine that pretty rubbish...

In those cases, it would of course still be the responsibility of the father in the first place and if he's no capable of taking care of this family, then the government, but of course, I can fully imagine that there are many cases where neither of those are of any good... I also agree, in those cases, it was definitely not the mother that did something wrong, they are victims as well without any support network...

The above does of course not take away the fact that squatters are never wanted (normally, not commenting on these paid squatters above), but I would certainly not use the term "low-life" here... When these "fathers" decide they want to produce kids and then abandon them and their mother, those would be the "low-life" ones...

 

[Big]

Here are some comments from a person on the wrong side of the law at La Cienaga, Cabarete yesterday:

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As an "excavator" works in the background. You seem to be on top of this issue windyguy. Is this the place across the street from Gorditos. near the power/switching station ? Anyway, deep down these people knew they were getting a free ride while it lasted. They're way too many reasons they need to move on. Gee I wonder where all their sewage is going. Are they hauling their own refuse to the dump. We know the answers. Should be a caveat to all property owners, business people and landlords. I wont let anyone spend one single night under my carport. They might claim ownership and use my tool shed as an outhouse.

 

[Conchman]

No, not in any way. Just that it's strange that they take action after sooooo many years.
Because if I had a piece of land and then suddenly I noticed that someone started to build on that land, I wouldn't let them finish live there for 20 years and then come to them and say "hey that's my piece of land, what are you doing there?" Which is something that happens a lot here, the owners aren't bothered at first, and they can even have an oral agreement that the "occupants" can occupy the land and build a house on it, but then something happens and then they are forced to move and leave behind years of hard work.
But they still have their full right to do whatever they want, I'm just saying that it's strange that they keep people live on their property for decades.
Because I have hard to believe that the owners are fully unaware that someone has settled on their land, and then suddenly there are dozens or even hundreds of houses on my property.

In many cases there are disputes over land ownership, that can take years or decades to play out in the courts. Once it is settled, the rightful owner wants to take possession.

 

[cavok]

As an "excavator" works in the background. You seem to be on top of this issue windyguy. Is this the place across the street from Gorditos. near the power/switching station ? Anyway, deep down these people knew they were getting a free ride while it lasted. They're way too many reasons they need to move on. Gee I wonder where all their sewage is going. Are they hauling their own refuse to the dump. We know the answers. Should be a caveat to all property owners, business people and landlords. I wont let anyone spend one single night under my carport. They might claim ownership and use my tool shed as an outhouse.

No, that's the Callejon. La Cienaga is a little further to the west just past Kite Beach. It borders Costa Azul - before you get to Playa Encuentro. There's always a lot of concheros parked there on the the ocean side of the highway at the entrance to La Cienaga.

 

[Auryn]

When I volunteered in Cabarete, the majority of the children lived in La Ciénaga. This was inevitable eventually, but it’s still very sad for the little ones. Many people there would give the shirt off their back without hesitating.

 

[PICHARDO]

 

[PICHARDO]

 

[USA DOC]

That's where I thought the area was located. As for the improper titles, I assume roads were built and utility accounts opened. One would think that neither of those things would be possible for an improperly titled property. But then again maybe not.

land owership is a very gray area here....

 

[windeguy]

As an "excavator" works in the background. You seem to be on top of this issue windyguy. Is this the place across the street from Gorditos. near the power/switching station ? Anyway, deep down these people knew they were getting a free ride while it lasted. They're way too many reasons they need to move on. Gee I wonder where all their sewage is going. Are they hauling their own refuse to the dump. We know the answers. Should be a caveat to all property owners, business people and landlords. I wont let anyone spend one single night under my carport. They might claim ownership and use my tool shed as an outhouse.

No. La Cienaga is in back of Costa Azul immediately south of where the 9 hole golf course used to be.
(There are also problem in Callejon de la Loma which is down the road from the Ocean Dream Plaza, but that is not the subject of this thread.)

Thousands of people are still going to have their sewage go into the public wetlands filled in by the former mayor. Unless of course this really is just the start and they evict all of them. I am doubtful of that since all of them is in the thousands now.