Colombia-Nicaragua relations
Encyclopedia
Colombia–Nicaragua relations entail the diplomatic relations between the Republic of Colombia and the Republic of Nicaragua. The relationship between the two Latin American countries has evolved amid conflicts over the San Andrés y Providencia Islands located in the Caribbean sea
close to the Nicaraguan shoreline and the maritime boundaries covering 150,000 km² that included the islands of San Andrés
, Providencia
and Santa Catalina
and the banks of Roncador
, Serrana, Serranilla
and Quitasueño
as well as the 82nd meridian west
which Colombia claims as a border but which the International Court has sided with Nicaragua in disavowing. The archipelago has been under Colombian control since 1931 when a treaty was signed during US occupation of Nicaragua, giving Colombia control over the islands.
, Colombia
headed by President Belisario Betancur
was part of the Contadora Group
along Panama
, Mexico
and Venezuela
. The United Nations
supported group intended to promote peace in El Salvador
, Nicaragua and Guatemala
, which were engulfed in internal armed conflicts.
Colombia considered that the Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty
signed between 1928 and 1930 supported their claim on the sovereignty over the islands.
Nicaragua considered the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty invalid and argued that at the time it was signed, Nicaragua was invaded by the United States
. It also appealed to the Pact of Bogota of 1948, under article 31 of which both countries agreed to comply with the International Court of Justice
(ICJ). Colombia considers this pact as invalid since article 6 in the same document specifies that the pact would not apply to previously resolved disputes referring to the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty.
(ICJ) in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
President of Nicaragua
Daniel Ortega
also claimed that Colombia was too far from San Andres to have sovereignty over these and also accused Colombia of being "imperialist" and "expansionist". On December 12, 2007 Ortega also ordered the Nicaraguan military to be prepared for conflict with Colombia. The Colombian government answered that they would wait for the ICJ resolution and were going to ignore Ortega.
On December 13, 2007 the International Court of Justice was set to resolve at 10 AM. The court finally concluded the long time dispute in favor of Colombia over the sovereignty over the San Andres Archipelago but also said that it had jurisdiction over the other aspects of the maritime dispute.
said that Nicaragua could gain territory in this way by setting a new trial to resolve the maritime booundaries
that were not previously established in any of the accords or treaties and the Roncador, Quitasueño y Serrana banks. Regarding this Colombia used as border the 82° meridian
while Nicaragua wants to expand and gain territory.
President of Colombia
Álvaro Uribe
and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Araújo
expressed that Colombia needs to prove that the banks are also part of Colombia. President Uribe said that at the moment the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty was signed there was nothing stipulated about the banks because Colombia was contesting them with the United States to resolve the sovereignty over these, but not because Nicaragua was claiming these and pointed out that Colombia had already been generous to Nicaragua by ceding the Mosquito Coast
which had been previously claimed by Colombia.
process the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla are undergoing to exchange hostages for prisoners. Ortega opined about the issue calling the FARC "brothers" to free political prisoner Ingrid Betancourt
and said that Betancourt's death could be used to cast blame on the FARC.
The Colombian government regarded these remarks as an intervention in internal Colombian affairs and issued a note of protest to Nicaragua. The Colombian government did not consider appropriate the "familiarized language" used to refer to the head of a "narcoterrorist organization".
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean located in the tropics of the Western hemisphere. It is bounded by Mexico and Central America to the west and southwest, to the north by the Greater Antilles, and to the east by the Lesser Antilles....
close to the Nicaraguan shoreline and the maritime boundaries covering 150,000 km² that included the islands of San Andrés
San Andrés (island)
San Andrés is a coral island among the Colombian islands in the Caribbean Sea; it is the largest island of the southern group of islands. Together with the nearby island of Providencia and some smaller islands of the southern group of the Colombian archipelago, San Andrés forms the department of...
, Providencia
Providencia Island
Isla de Providencia or Old Providence is a mountainous Caribbean island. Though it is closer to Nicaragua, it is part of the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, a department of Colombia, lying midway between Costa Rica and Jamaica...
and Santa Catalina
Santa Catalina
Santa Catalina may refer to:*Argentina**Santa Catalina, Jujuy**Santa Catalina, Córdoba**Santa Catalina, Santiago del Estero*Colombia**Santa Catalina, Colombia**Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina*Dominican Republic...
and the banks of Roncador
Roncador Bank
Roncador Bank is a mostly-submerged atoll with several sandy cays. It lies in the west Caribbean Sea off the coast of Central America. Originally claimed by the United States under the Guano Islands Act of 1856, the atoll was returned by the United States to Colombia on September 17, 1981, as the...
, Serrana, Serranilla
Serranilla Bank
Serranilla Bank is a partially submerged reef, with small uninhabited islets, in the western Caribbean Sea. It is situated about northeast of Punta Gorda, Nicaragua, and roughly southwest of Jamaica. The closest neighbouring land feature is Bajo Nuevo Bank, located 110 km to the east.Serranilla...
and Quitasueño
Quita Sueño Bank
Quita Sueño Bank is a reef formation of Colombia which was once claimed by the United States, located 110 km North-northeast of Providencia Island.-History:...
as well as the 82nd meridian west
82nd meridian west
The meridian 82° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
which Colombia claims as a border but which the International Court has sided with Nicaragua in disavowing. The archipelago has been under Colombian control since 1931 when a treaty was signed during US occupation of Nicaragua, giving Colombia control over the islands.
War in Central America
In 1985 during the Sandinist revolution in NicaraguaNicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
headed by President Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur
Belisario Betancur Cuartas is a Colombian statesman, who as a member of the Colombian Conservative Party was President of Colombia from 1982 to 1986.- Biographic data :...
was part of the Contadora Group
Contadora Group
The Contadora Group was an initiative launched in the early 1980s by the foreign ministers of Colombia, Mexico, Panama and Venezuela to deal with the military conflicts in El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala, which were threatening to destabilize the entire Central American region.The original...
along Panama
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. The United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
supported group intended to promote peace in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Nicaragua and Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, which were engulfed in internal armed conflicts.
San Andres archipelago and maritime dispute
Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty
The Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty was signed between Colombia and Nicaragua on 24 March 1928. Under the terms of the treaty, Nicaragua recognized Colombia's sovereignty over the Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina....
signed between 1928 and 1930 supported their claim on the sovereignty over the islands.
Nicaragua considered the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty invalid and argued that at the time it was signed, Nicaragua was invaded by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It also appealed to the Pact of Bogota of 1948, under article 31 of which both countries agreed to comply with the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
(ICJ). Colombia considers this pact as invalid since article 6 in the same document specifies that the pact would not apply to previously resolved disputes referring to the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty.
International Court of Justice case
On December 6, 2001 Nicaragua filed a complaint against Colombia at the International Court of JusticeInternational Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
(ICJ) in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
President of Nicaragua
President of Nicaragua
The position of President of Nicaragua was created in the Constitution of 1854. From 1825 until the Constitution of 1838 the title of the position was known as Head of State and from 1838 to 1854 as Supreme Director .-Heads of State of Nicaragua within the Federal Republic of Central America...
Daniel Ortega
Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is a Nicaraguan politician and revolutionary, currently serving as the 83rd President of Nicaragua, a position that he has held since 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 1985 and 1990, and for much of his life, has been a leader in the Sandinista...
also claimed that Colombia was too far from San Andres to have sovereignty over these and also accused Colombia of being "imperialist" and "expansionist". On December 12, 2007 Ortega also ordered the Nicaraguan military to be prepared for conflict with Colombia. The Colombian government answered that they would wait for the ICJ resolution and were going to ignore Ortega.
On December 13, 2007 the International Court of Justice was set to resolve at 10 AM. The court finally concluded the long time dispute in favor of Colombia over the sovereignty over the San Andres Archipelago but also said that it had jurisdiction over the other aspects of the maritime dispute.
Unresolved maritime dispute
The Colombian newspaper El EspectadorEl Espectador
El Espectador is a newspaper with national circulation within Colombia, founded by Fidel Cano Gutiérrez on 22 March 1887 in Medellín and published since 1915 in Bogotá...
said that Nicaragua could gain territory in this way by setting a new trial to resolve the maritime booundaries
Maritime boundary
Maritime boundary is a conceptual means of division of the water surface of the planet into maritime areas that are defined through surrounding physical geography or by human geography. As such it usually includes areas of exclusive national rights over the mineral and biological resources,...
that were not previously established in any of the accords or treaties and the Roncador, Quitasueño y Serrana banks. Regarding this Colombia used as border the 82° meridian
82nd meridian west
The meridian 82° west of Greenwich is a line of longitude that extends from the North Pole across the Arctic Ocean, North America, the Gulf of Mexico, the Caribbean Sea, Central America, the Pacific Ocean, the Southern Ocean, and Antarctica to the South Pole....
while Nicaragua wants to expand and gain territory.
President of Colombia
President of Colombia
The President of Colombia is the head of state and head of government of the Republic of Colombia. The office of president was established upon the ratification of the Constitution of 1819, by the Congress of Angostura, convened in December 1819, when Colombia was part of "la Gran Colombia"...
Álvaro Uribe
Álvaro Uribe
Alvaro Uribe Vélez was the 58th President of Colombia, from 2002 to 2010. In August 2010 he was appointed Vice-chairman of the UN panel investigating the Gaza flotilla raid....
and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fernando Araújo
Fernando Araújo Perdomo
Fernando Araújo Perdomo is a Colombian politician. He was the Minister of Development during the administration of Andrés Pastrana. He resigned from this post after the Chambacú land deal scandal. He was later kidnapped by the FARC-EP guerrillas and held for six years until he eventually escaped...
expressed that Colombia needs to prove that the banks are also part of Colombia. President Uribe said that at the moment the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty was signed there was nothing stipulated about the banks because Colombia was contesting them with the United States to resolve the sovereignty over these, but not because Nicaragua was claiming these and pointed out that Colombia had already been generous to Nicaragua by ceding the Mosquito Coast
Mosquito Coast
The Caribbean Mosquito Coast historically consisted of an area along the Atlantic coast of present-day Nicaragua and Honduras, and part of the Western Caribbean Zone. It was named after the local Miskito Indians and long dominated by British interests...
which had been previously claimed by Colombia.
Ortega's humanitarian exchange remarks
On December 14, 2007, President Ortega of Nicaragua stirred controversy after making remarks over the Humanitarian exchangeHumanitarian exchange
The Humanitarian Exchange or Humanitarian Accord refers to the possible accord to exchange hostages for prisoners between the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia guerrilla group and the Government of Colombia....
process the Colombian government and the FARC guerrilla are undergoing to exchange hostages for prisoners. Ortega opined about the issue calling the FARC "brothers" to free political prisoner Ingrid Betancourt
Íngrid Betancourt
Ingrid Betancourt Pulecio is a Colombian politician, former senator and anti-corruption activist.Betancourt was kidnapped by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia on 23 February 2002 and was rescued by Colombian security forces six and a half years later on 2 July 2008...
and said that Betancourt's death could be used to cast blame on the FARC.
The Colombian government regarded these remarks as an intervention in internal Colombian affairs and issued a note of protest to Nicaragua. The Colombian government did not consider appropriate the "familiarized language" used to refer to the head of a "narcoterrorist organization".
See also
- Foreign relations of ColombiaForeign relations of ColombiaColombia seeks diplomatic and commercial relations with all countries, regardless of their ideologies or political or economic systems. For this reason, the Colombian economy is very open, relying on international trade and following the guidelines given by the international law.Regional relations...
- Foreign relations of NicaraguaForeign relations of NicaraguaNicaragua pursues an independent foreign policy. A participant of the Central American Security Commission , Nicaragua also has taken a leading role in pressing for regional demilitarization and peaceful settlement of disputes within states in the region....
- Territorial disputes of NicaraguaTerritorial disputes of NicaraguaTerritorial disputes of Nicaragua include the territorial dispute with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank...