Wed, Aug. 10, 2005
Latin America in brief
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/world/12346642.htm
VENEZUELA 6 indigenous groups receive ancestral lands
Six of Venezuela's indigenous communities received title to their ancestral lands Tuesday in a ceremony that Venezuela's president said reversed centuries of injustice.
President Hugo Chávez said he hoped that the government would be able to turn over titles to 15 other indigenous communities by the end of the year.
``What we're recognizing is the original ownership of these lands,'' Chávez said during the ceremony. ``Now no one will be able to come and trample over you in the future.''
The documents recognize land ownership by six indigenous communities with some 4,000 people and territory covering 314,000 acres in the states of Anzoategui and Monagas.
>From (San Jose) Mercury News wire services