Marauding locals were undoubtedly the culprits. People do that stuff all over the world. Copper wire and cables are worth money, and in a poor area, that's important.
Yes, Bandera wants it back because they think it'll be a money maker. They haven't said how much money they think it's worth, though, because only minimal exploration has been done. They did make an investment in infrastructure, so it's scarcely unreasonable of them to hope to regain control.
And given the title dispute, I don't think anyone with good sense will be interested in buying right now.