Treasure-filled wreck sparks Navy action

The Colombian navy is currently patrolling the Caribbean Sea off its coasts. The reason being? An eighteenth-century Spanish galleon, the San Jose, filled to the brim with treasures, lies at the bottom. Spain, Colombia, and Bolivia are all laying claim to this sunken treasure.

"El Mundo," a Spanish newspaper, cites sources within the Colombian government who shared that the treasure-laden ship was sunk in 1708 during a naval battle with the British fleet.

According to "El Mundo," the Colombian Navy patrols the shipwreck site 24 hours a day. The newspaper estimates the treasure in the galleon to be worth between 10-20 billion euros. However, the Colombian authorities have never disclosed the exact location of the galleon, which, historians claim, holds approximately 200 metric tons (220 short tons) of treasures.

The Madrid-based newspaper suggests that the probable location of the San Jose ship is the Caribbean Sea, near the Colombian port of Cartagena de Indias. The wreck rests about 600m (approximately 1968.5ft) under the water's surface. Since the announcement of the wreck's discovery in 2015, there has been speculation that valuable items at this site have been gradually pilfered, suggests the newspaper.

In 2018, during a visit to Bogota, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez laid Madrid's claim to the wreck. However, two years later, the Vice President of Colombia, Marta Lucia Ramirez, countered, insisting that the goods in the wreck constitute part of her country's national heritage, the newspaper recollects.

Adding to the international dispute, Bolivia has also laid claim to the treasures in the San Jose wreck, arguing that the precious metals being transported by the Spanish seamen were mined in Bolivia.