"Great news! We have found the San Jose galleon, President Juan Manuel Santos announced on his Twitter account. "Tomorrow we will provide details at a press conference from Cartagena." According to the nation's head, the wreck of a Spanish galleon loaded with treasure that was sunk by the British approximately 300 years ago has been discovered off the Colombian coast.

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After years of complex investigations conducted by an international team led by the Colombian Institute of Anthropology with the Colombian Navy, San Jose was found close to the port in the city of Cartagena. The vessel is likely to be loaded with precious metals, brass canons and silver coins in addition to a variety of valuable jewels. Experts have declared that if the size of the ship is verified, the sunken cargo is likely to be worth £1 billion.

The San Jose sank in June 1708 off Colombia's Caribbean coast during King Philip's battle with the British ship seeking to acquire its goods during the War of Spanish Succession.

US salvage company Sea Search Armada, which had a continuing claim against Bogota over ownership of the wreck, claimed that the government's declaration over the discovered treasure was unclear during a legal discussion.

SSA said to have found the wreck site in 1981 and had a deal with the Colombian government to allocate any profits. The government later said any treasure will be under Colombia.

In 2011, a US court declared the galleon property of the Colombian state. 

President Santos said that a museum will be built in Cartagena to house the ship's treasures.

TagsSan Jose galleon, Spanish Galleon, Juan Manuel Santos, Cartagena, sunken ship, Colombian coast, Colombian Navy, Colombian Institute of Anthropology, War of Spanish Succession, King Philip V, Sea Search Armada, Colombia