The journey of two families to reclaim their land in the case involving former magistrate Jorge Pretelt,

In March 2020, in a 130-page sentence, the Superior Court of Antioquia ordered protect the right to land restitution of Reynaldo Pascual Villalba Alarcón and Argenida María Hernández Díaz, who as appropriate are recognized as victims of forced displacement. The latter, as representative of the estate of the peasant Manuel Gregorio Hernández Soto, who died on January 31, 2014, but who, according to the award, was the “owner of the real estate law”.

The goods concerned by this dispute are: ‘Alto Bonito’ and ‘No hay como Dios’, two of the four that make up the La Corona farm, in the rural area of ​​Turbo and which were administered by Jorge Prételt Chaljub, former magistrate of the Constitutional Court and first magistrate of the High Court to be found guilty of corruption in the country. However, despite the fact that one year and nine months have passed, the transfer of land continues to be observed.

In its operative part, the judgment states that Pretelt Chaljub has not shown that he acted in good faith and without guilt when he acquired the properties in question, claimed by the peasants. Likewise, he denied the status of second occupant, which he allegedly obtained after receiving the property from Martha Ligia Patrón López, his wife.

The decision declares non-existent the buying and selling companies with which the peasants lost their property on these properties, including one from 1999 in which several peasants by the name of Villalba Alarcón “sold” to Evelio Enrique Díaz Yañez, who According to the former paramilitary alias “Monoleche”, he was one of those responsible for pressuring and intimidating the families of Urabá to sell their land.

These lands have known big problems because in the past, near the two properties there was a huge paramilitary operations and training called La 35, spread over 500 hectares. And indeed, The area is dominated by Dairo Antonio Úsuga, alias Otoniel, leader of the Clan del Golfo and target of the largest law enforcement operation in Colombia.

According to El Espectador, the pandemic was the first problem families faced. Well, just three days after the conviction, the Supreme Judicial Council postponed all events to April 20, 2020. Among them, the delivery of equipment, in charge of the first civil court for the restitution of the lands of Apartadó (Antioquia).

However, As the health crisis spread until today, the decision was taken to reschedule the delivery to February 16 of this year, but it was canceled due to the “security conditions in which the police in Urabá warned of the risks to the development of the commission ”.

Later, on May 14, 2021, it looked like the long-awaited day of land transfer would finally take place, however, in the words of the Unit and again under the guise of security, “It was quashed by the court due to the silence presented by the army and the police to justify the security conditions in the region.”

According to the authorities in the region, the reason why security has been the big drag is that now this region, the Gulf of Urabá, It is the center of activity of the criminal organization most present in Colombia and where the Agamemnon operation is focused, to find the most wanted man in the country: Otoniel.

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