Man rips out protected trees to make ‘Paradise’ travel spot in Puerto Rico, feds say

A Puerto Rico man has been sentenced to more than a year in prison after he was found guilty of destroying protected mangroves to build vacation rentals, the Department of Justice said.

Between 2020 and 2023, the 41-year-old, and two other men, ripped out mangroves and wetlands in the Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Las Mareas, Puerto Rico, according to a December 2023 indictment.

The man didn’t have a building permit and was in a protected area when he backfilled the wetland with “quarry material and built concrete structures,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of Puerto Rico said in a Sept. 11 news release.

On the site, the man built a series of vacation rental homes, accompanied by an in-ground pool and a dock extending into the Caribbean Sea, officials said. The property also had outdoor dining areas and other amenities, according to the indictment.

The man named the property “Hidden Paradise,” officials said, then rented units online as short-term rentals for just shy of $500 per night.

He was indicted on charges of violation of the Clean Water Act on Dec. 9, 2023, and pleaded guilty on May 3, according to the DOJ.

“Mangrove wetlands, such as those destroyed by (the man), are critical to local infrastructure, economies and ecosystems because they can limit damage from flooding and storms, reduce pollution and provide habitat for numerous marine and endangered species,” federal officials said. “... the reserve is home to the endangered brown pelican, peregrine falcon, hawksbill turtle and West Indian manatee.”

The Clean Water Act was enacted in 1972 to protect the natural water resources in the United States from pollutants and human activity, federal officials said.

The man was also initially indicted on charges of violating the River and Harbors Act, another piece of environmental protection legislation, but those charges were not prosecuted.

The 41-year-old was sentenced to 14 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release, according to the Department of Justice. He was also fined $10,000.

“This case is part of an ongoing investigation into the destruction of wetlands in Puerto Rico,” federal officials said.

The Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve was established in 1981 and includes 2,883 acres of land along the southern coast of Puerto Rico.

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