The three-way war won treasure of $ 17 billion at the bottom of the sea

The war for a fortune worth an estimated 17 billion dollars contained in a submerged sea boat for the past 300 years is expected to be extremely fierce and persistent.

Discover 300-year-old treasure worth $ 17 billion

Colombia on November 27 said it had discovered the Spanish ship San Jose , loaded with gold, silver and gems, worth up to $ 17 billion, sunk in the Caribbean Sea more than 300 years ago. A search conducted by the Institute of Anthropology and History in collaboration with the Colombian navy identified the boat now at a depth of 300m, more than 25km from Cartagena, according to the Guardian.

"Great news: We found the San Jose boat!" , Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos shared on Twitter. "The discovery of San Jose marks a historic milestone for our seabed civilization , " wrote Mr. Santos on December 5 and posted a video showing a search team advancing. operating on the sea.

San Jose is known as one of the sailboats that carries the most valuable goods in world maritime history. In 1708, she was led by an English fleet, led by Admiral Charles Wager, submerged off Cartagena while on the way to transport treasure from Spanish colonies in South Africa.

Some leftover items of the San Jose boat were found.(Photo: AFP).

"Only the value of the cargo on San Jose has surpassed the annual income of the Spanish home from all sources. Add the total amount of gold bars and coins on the boat, the number is even greater than income. every year of Spain two to three times, in addition, it carries other commercial items such as cocoa, indigo, animal skin, precious wood . " , a document posted online. .

According to CNN, finding a boat off the coast of Colombia will certainly ignite fierce debate around the question of how the huge block of assets will be divided. The problem is also at the heart of a trilateral legal battle, including an American company based in Bellevue, Washington, and the Colombian and Spanish governments.

Persistent war

In 1981, Sea Search Armada (SSA), a company that specialized in salvaging the seabed, claimed to locate the San Jose boat sink but accused the Colombian government of trying to "illegally usurp" the findings. their.

SSA repeatedly filed lawsuits in both the US and Colombia, including two applications rejected by the US court in 2011 and 2015. However, the company ruled that the Colombian Supreme Court ruled that the treasure on the right is divided by 50/50 ratio between SSA and the Colombian government.

However, in a press conference held last weekend, Colombian Culture Minister Garces Cordoba said all legal challenges had been tried in favor of the Colombian government.

The Colombian government announced that it had won the trial in federal district court, ruling that SSA had no authority over the treasures on the San Jose boat. But, according to Jack Barbeston, SSA's chief executive, all are just repeated lies.

Items believed to belong to wrecked boats.(Photo: AFP).

"The Colombian side seems to have no good intention in enforcing Colombia's Supreme Court ruling to settle with SSA," Harbeston said. "Their purpose is probably to prevent SSA from exercising their access to their properties. The deprivation of the ownership of property by US citizens violates the trade agreement that the country directly violates. signed with the US ".

Harbeston said Colombia even threatened to use military power against SSA."This is no different from the actions of the Spaniards who invaded Central and South America when they were old," he stressed.

According to US court records, SSA affirmed they were the party marking the position of the San Jose boat on the continental shelf off the coast of Colombia in 1981 and formally filed the Colombian government a year later. .

However, the Colombian side refused to give SSA 35% of the treasure, breaking a unified agreement in 1984, and there were acts that prevented the US company from salvaging the ship on the seabed.

The Colombian Parliament also passed a new law to give the country all rights to the treasure inside the wrecked boat and only give SSA 5% of the treasure value because it had discovered the boat. This amount was later taxed up to 45%, the SSA claim filed.

According to SSA, some courts in Colombia also argue that the new law is unconstitutional. The Barranquilla District Court also ruled that the treasure inside San Jose will be divided into two equal parts. Colombia's Supreme Court also agrees with this division.

Besides, the Spanish government is also considering to claim ownership of the treasure on the San Jose boat. Mr. Jose Maria Lasalle, Minister of Culture of Spain, on December 5 voiced a reminder to Colombia about Spain's "clear position" for "assets in the sinking boat".

The treasure ship is located at a depth of 300m, more than 25km from Cartagena.(Graphic: BBC) .

He said Spain was checking the information provided by Colombia before deciding "how to act".

Lasalle also mentioned a similar incident when Spain's Nuestra Senora de las Mercedes frigate was sunk by the British battleship off the southern coast of Portugal in 1804.

In 2007, the wreck was discovered by the salvage company Odyssey Marine Exploration. They collected over 500,000 coins in gold and silver, weighing nearly 17 tons. At that time, there were all three parties involved in the dispute, including the Odyssey, the Spanish and Peruvian governments, who claimed the number of assets on board was the stolen treasure of the Incas. By 2012, the new case was resolved when the US court ruled that Spain was the legal owner of the treasure.

However, with a much larger amount of assets thought to be contained inside San Jose, experts assess the legal battle regarding the fate of this boat will last for many years.