Spain Returns Seized Artifacts to Colombia

MADRID, SPAIN—Reuters reports that Spain has returned 691 artifacts to Colombia, including 3,000-year-old ceramics, busts, sculptures, and jewelry, which were seized in 2003 in a drug-trafficking, money-laundering case. The items had been held at Madrid’s Museum of America until Colombia petitioned Spain’s High Court for their repatriation. “In addition to economic value, the pieces’ greatest value comes from their roots, which is an expression of history itself, of culture and of every nation’s soul,” Police General Director Ignacio Cosido said at a ceremony at the museum, where the artifacts were handed over to Colombian officials. The remaining three hundred seized artifacts will remain at the museum while Spanish officials determine where they belong.