Spanish shipwreck carrying more than $1B worth of treasures found in Colombia; #GaleonSanJose trends on Twitter

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"This is the most valuable treasure that has been found in the history of humanity," so goes President Juan Manuel Santos. No less than the highest-ranking official in Colombia made the announcement of the underwater discovery of a Spanish shipwreck off the coast of the modern port city of Cartagena, in the northern portion of the country.

The San Jose galleon was believed to have been carrying valuable cargo like gold, silver and other precious stones and jewelry with an estimated value in billions of dollars. The amount varies with other news reports coming up with a figure between $3 billion up to as much as $17 billion.

"Great news: we found the Galeón San José! Tomorrow I will give details at a press conference from Cartagena," wrote Pres. Santos in his Twitter account Friday, Dec. 4 and translated from Spanish by Bing. A video of one ship seemingly doing a reconnaissance operation at the coast was also released.

"Discovery of the San Jose galleon marks a historic milestone for our underwater cultural heritage," he added.

Also dubbed as the "holy grail of shipwrecks," treasure hunters have been in search for the ship for many years, according to ABC.net.au. Although, the government officials won't reveal the exact location of the shipwreck, it was known that the San Jose galleon was sunk by British warships in the Caribbean seas back in the early 1700s.

The San Jose was loaded by these valuable items, which has been collected in the South American colonies, and was off to carry its cargo for the king of Spain at the time. The treasure was said to help in financing the king's war of succession against the British, the BBC reported.

This remarkable discovery has also been one of the trending topics in Twitter with the hashtag #GaleonSanJose. People from all over the world have expressed their two cents regarding the important find and its real amount, as well as, on who should be the rightful claimant is.

According to a CNN report, there are two major parties that have been embroiled in a bitter dispute for years over the galleon's stupendous riches. Sea Search Armada, a group of U.S. investors engaged in marine salvaging, said that they were the first to have made the discovery and found the exact location of the shipwreck in 1981.

The American firm has been in a long legal battle with the government of Colombia and claims that it has won a Colombian Supreme Court ruling that states a 50-50 split between the two parties. Meanwhile, Mariana Garcés Córdoba, Colombia Cultural Minister said in a press conference Saturday that the government have won all legal disputes.

So, what do you guys think? Let us know in the comment section.