Embedded Files
In memory of Carlos Manuel Villalobos ChavarrĂa
Set/20/1953Â -Â Ene/17/2023
Many stories are shared within the popular and collective home, one by one, passed down through generations, to learn what is necessary to advance and evolve. There are stories that, in the eyes of those who don't want them known, slowly fade away, forcibly silencing the lives of those who are still around to tell them. This is not one of those stories; this is a vivid account that burns in the hearts of those who still have faith and hope in making us aware of what power structures do to hoard wealth to squander, neglect, and exchange, at the cost of the lives of thousands who have done everything possible to preserve that wealth over time. What wealth are we referring to? The water, the air, and the forest that produces it.
Following the disorder of the INDER (a Costa Rican institution, an instrument of the government self policies in power), it becomes imperative to expand upon the unknown political drama of the poorly-named "Asentamiento Campesino Osa" (real folio 39334-000), the land occupation conflict, and the declaration of an illegal forest reserve in the Osa Peninsula. This social crisis originated in 1948 when the State, within a judicial process riddled with flaws, transferred more than 34,000 hectares in the peninsula to two citizens, leading to the sale of that territory—already extensively and long-occupied—in 1959 to three foreign corporations domiciled in the Bahamas.
Created in 1961, the ITCO (later IDA, now INDER) spent the entire decade trying to resolve—without success—the conflict between the peasants and Osa Forestal, increasing the climate of violence by 1970. Members of the Partido Acción Socialista proposed expropriation and the granting of titles through a law (No. 5852) concerning the territory controlled by “Osa” (a foreign logging company with various interests) for logging operations supported by the government of Daniel Oduber, (Costa Rica's president at that time).
Pressed by news of increasing violence and political and union pressure, the ITCO reached an agreement in April 1974 with “Osa,” officially declaring the existence of a precarious land occupation conflict on these vast properties, under the protection of its Organic Law 2825, committing to intervene and find a solution to the crisis; while “Osa”—also pressured by its imminent expropriation—secured the protection of the Oduber government.
“This is not one of those stories; this is a vivid account that burns in the hearts of those who still have faith and hope”
With the expropriation law's approval in its first debate in September 1975, Oduber, to avoid this outcome, unexpectedly, in conjunction with the ITCO, the National Parks Service, and “Osa,” executed (in October, during the third debate), and outside the law, a disproportionate land exchange: Osa Forestal would exchange properties—occupied and with a declared conflict—with the Government; in return, it would receive two territories (Rancho Quemado and Cerro de Oro, ocupied by settlers), irregularly declared as a national reserve by decree (5342-A 1975), with the intervention of the ITCO.
A photograph from the Libertad newspaper, popular of that era exposing a shadowy international mafia controlling Osa.
This hasty maneuver would, on that same day (October 24, 1975), predispose the declaration of a national park on the lands exchanged with “Osa,” with the ultimate goal of justifying the veto (December 4, 1975) of Law 5852; a law that would end Osa Forestal's control over the Peninsula. With such an exchange of lands and lives (violating Law 2825 and Forestry Law 4465), the government openly violated international human rights treaties, with the nefarious objective of protecting the private interests of a foreign corporation as questionable as the “Robert Vesco” case, protected by the Figueres Ferrer government. With the presidential veto, the historical agrarian conflict was rendered invisible, disappearing from the national agenda and consciousness, along with the burden of political and institutional responsibility; so much so that, from December 4, 1975, the Oduber government and the ITCO resisted resolving the conflict, allowing, at the end of its term, against the laws and human rights—without respecting the technical provisions of Forestry Law 4465—the declaration of a forest reserve (Executive Decree 8494e-A, April 28, 1978).
The objective of this declaration was:Â
The objective of this declaration was:Â
1. To protect the logging projects of “Osa,” and
2. To cover up the existence of the precarious land occupation conflict.
An Osa Forestal helicopter used in the violent conflict against the peasants and inhabitants of the Osa Peninsula, currently sits in ruins as an exhibit at the INDER in Osa. (Photo from 1976). Testimony exists claiming it was used to drop poisoned bread to those peasants and inhabitants cornered in the forest during pursuits from the sea and the few existing land routes.
“Osa Forestal would exchange properties—occupied and with a declared conflict—with the Government; in return, it would receive two territories (Rancho Quemado and Cerro de Oro, occupied by settlers)”
In 1979, another attempt to expropriate “Osa” was carried out by the Carazo Odio government through Executive Decree No. 10088 G-H. This expropriation, through legal channels, was impossible to execute. Its objectives were:
1. To hide and conceal, for the fourth time, the historical agrarian conflict by establishing its consideration as a matter of public interest, solving the “problem of so many landless peasants” nationally (ideological falsehood). This device makes absolutely no mention of the entrenched agrarian conflict on the “Osa” properties (already with oficial declaration).
2. The misappropriation of public funds in the payment for several properties that had serious irregularities; farm 8947 had been merged since 1976 by the union of several “Osa” farms, including 22034 (Cerro de Oro) and 22036 (Rancho Quemado), both deeds containing a second untimely entry (Executive Decree 6953 - 1977), where fraud (extra-registral and registral) was committed to eliminate the existence and possessory rights of the peasants on the exchanged lands, using the declaration of Corcovado National Park as a cover to protect the powerful interests of the multinational Osa Forestal.
These irregularities were so evident and notorious to the experienced public officials responsible (State, Attorney General's Office, Public Registry, and ITCO) that the sale deed No. 40 (4 PM, July 12, 1979) (document citation 320 - 12514) was not registered in 1979 but rather in 2009 in the name of the State. But in 1980, without the expropriated farms (8947, 22046, and 22048) being registered, the Registry “merged” them against the law, originating Real Folio 39334-000 or "Asentamiento Campesino Osa" without successive transfer. These atrocious crimes remain under the dark cloak of impunity, without being widely known to the public and the authorities of the Costa Rican state. While this happened, to this day, the State continues to be committed to evicting and dispossessing—under the pretext of an encroachment on the spurious Golfo Dulce Forest Reserve—hundreds of families, depriving them of the right to title their lands, ironically using the fraudulent expropriation to achieve the eviction, without the State realizing that since 1948 human rights have been violated in the Osa Peninsula.
The book "Osa Forestal, Una VergĂĽenza del Estado Costarricense" (Osa Forest, A Shame of the Costa Rican State), the greatest literary, documentary, and historical work on the Osa Peninsula, exposes the biggest state fraud in Costa Rican land history, still ongoing.
Report from Ricardo Madrigal Madrigal, President of the Association of Farmers for the Defense and Reclamation of Lands (AGRIDET). Mr. Madrigal has now written a book detailing this history, leaving a trail for present and future generations of the truth hidden among the forests and wetlands of this lost paradise. In his book, Osa Forestal, Una VergĂĽenza del Estado Costarricense (Osa Forestal, A Shame of the Costa Rican State), the author unmasks and denounces, through unparalleled evidentiary support worthy of a history museum, the truths that the State, its powers, and traditional politics still evade and avoid at all costs.
“the Registry “merged” them against the law, originating Real Folio 39334-000 or "Asentamiento Campesino Osa" without successive transfer. These atrocious crimes remain under the dark cloak of impunity”
Remembering Carlos Villalobos, a passionate community tourism entrepreneur, is to honor the many inhabitants who, like him, are and will always be the rightful owners of their lands. Despite being insulted by the INDER and the State with the label of "occupants," as if it were a chair, the place where they have lived their lives and protected the dense and abundant forests for years, they continue to teach us with love how to survive in the remotest parts of nature and coexist peacefully. Villalobos was the proud owner of the Laguna Chocuaco project, located in the small town of Rancho Quemado, Costa Rica, a community of approximately 300 people. Carlos, along with his siblings, built a lodge and offered unforgettable tours, from half-day canoe excursions to immersive four-day jungle treks. His passion and dedication shone in every aspect of his business. Sadly, Carlos was murdered while defending his land and property. This tragic loss highlights the risks faced by many who struggle to protect their livelihoods and heritage.
He appeared in a documentary, 2.5% - La PenĂnsula de Osa, showcasing his incredible canoe excursions and the spirit of his community. His tour was also part of a special trip to the Osa Peninsula in December 2018. The memory of his dedication to ecotourism and his community remains, a stark reminder of the price some pay to preserve their way of life. His legacy serves as a testament to the importance of supporting local entrepreneurs and protecting those who defend sustainable tourism and the rights enshrined by the Costa Rican nation.
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