Colombia has found the wreck of a Spanish galleon that was sunk by the British in the Caribbean over 300 years ago carrying gold and precious stones thought to be worth billions.
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The discovery is the latest chapter in a saga that began three centuries ago, on June 8, 1708, when the Spanish ship with 600 people aboard sank as it was trying to outrun a fleet of British warships.
On Saturday, Santos didn’t mention the monetary value of the find, or the legal squabble that surrounds it.
Colombia has announced that it has discovered the remains of the San José Galleon, a ship that sank in 1708 during the War of Spanish Succession. Using underwater mapping, investigators studied thousands of anomalies and found five shipwrecks in the search area, he said.
At a press conference within the colonial port city of Cartagena, Santos stated the precise location of the San José galleon, & the way it was discovered with the assistance of a world team of specialists, was a state secret in that he had personally safeguard.
“This is the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity”.
Santos said that many details about the discovery need to remain under wraps and that the presidency was the only institution authorized to provide information about the find.
It is not yet known whether the Colombian government and Sea Search Armada will split any proceeds from the vessel’s cargo.
Experts confirmed that they found the San Jose on 27 November “in a place never before referenced by previous research”, President Santos said.
Shortly afterward, however, the government cast doubts on SSA’s claim, saying that an independent team of investigators couldn’t find evidence of a shipwreck at the coordinates provided by the company.
SSA has been claiming billions of dollars for breach of contract from the Colombian government, but in 2011 an American court ruled that the galleon was the property of the Colombian state.
On Saturday, Santos seemed to make clear who had the rightful claim on the bullion.
On Friday, Colombia’s President via Twitter announced the Fund of a long sought as controversial treasure ship.
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The president said any recovery effort would take years but would be guided by a desire to protect the national patrimony.
