Ivonne Arias, the executive director of the Jaragua Group, said she deplored the attempt by the Executive Branch to reach an agreement with the so-called property owners of the lands surrounding the Bahia de las Aguilas. The Jaragua Group is an NGO that works for the sustainable management of the biodiversity of Hispaniola, with an emphasis on the Jaragua-Bahoruco-Enriquillo Biosphere Reserve. Arias said that this would only legitimize the fraud. Her stance is based on her belief that the officials were unaware of the realities of the area and of its closest neighbors. She said that apparently President Medina was not told that the Bahia de las Aguilas is part of the scientific reserve of the Jaragua Park, which also forms part of the list of the world’s environmental reserves designated by UNESCO. She said that “many of the officials who are talking about the Bahia de las Aguilas have not even gone there or have only gone there as tourists and they do not know the poverty levels of the area.”