17:16 | Cusco (Cusco region), Apr. 8.
The Constitutional and Social Law Chamber of Peru's Supreme Court of Justice declared unfounded the claim for the land lying inside what is now the
Machu Picchu Archaeological Park, located in Urubamba province (Cusco region).
According to the Ministry of Culture, the Zavaleta family was claiming the ownership of more than 22,000 hectares of land, where the
Machu Picchu Inca Road Network and LLaqta Inca are located.
Likewise, the Supreme Court of Justice declared groundless the S/150 million (around US$45 million) compensation claim filed by the family's attorney for loss of earnings.
14-year legal battle
"The claim was issued in 2005. Finally, after 14 years of uphill legal battle, the Decentralized Culture Directorate of Cusco (DDCC) demonstrated that the Peruvian State, not a family, is the owner of more than 22,000 hectares of
Machu Picchu land," Deputy Minister of Cultural Heritage and Cultural Industries Guillermo Cortes Carcelen explained.
The government official emphasized that the Zavaleta family claimed the ownership of Qquente and Santa Rita de Qquente estates where
Machu Picchu Archaeological Park stands.
"However, during this long judicial process, we've provided evidence that such lands were expropriated by the General Directorate of Agricultural Reform in the 1960s and 1970s, in favor of the State," he said.
Without a doubt, this sentence has resolved the controversy that caused much concern in Cusco region.
(END) NDP/MAO/RMB/MVB
Published: 4/8/2019