Territorial disputes of Nicaragua
Encyclopedia
Territorial disputes of Nicaragua include the territorial dispute with Colombia
over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
. With respect to the maritime boundary
question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador
, Honduras
, and Nicaragua likely would be required. Nicaragua also has a maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea
and a boundary dispute over the Rio San Juan
with Costa Rica.
In 1670 the English corsair
Henry Morgan
took over the islands until 1689. In 1803, after Spain
's Viceroyalty of New Granada
had been reestablished in 1739, the archipelago and the province of Veraguas – covering the western territory of Panama
and the eastern coast of Nicaragua
– were added to its area of jurisdiction. In the later colonial era the territory was administered from the province of Cartagena
.
After gaining its independence, the inhabitants of the islands -who had been under the control of Louis Aury- Louis-Michel Aury
, voluntarily adhered to the Republic of Gran Colombia
in 1822 and control over them was transferred to the department of Magdalena. Subsequently, the United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) did not recognize the occupation of the islands and claimed ownership over them, while Colombia in turn protested the UPCA's occupation of the eastern coast of modern day Nicaragua. The UPCA federation dissolved in civil war between 1838–1840 and the resulting state of Nicaragua
carried on with the dispute, as did the Republic of the New Granada (made up of modern Colombia
and Panama
) that emerged from the dissolution of Gran Colombia
.
Colombia later established a local administration ("intendencia") in the islands during 1912. The signing of the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty in 1928 between both governments temporarily resolved the dispute in favor of Colombia. However, since 1980, when the Sandinista government assumed power in Nicaragua, a constitutional reform was enacted and the treaty was renounced.
Nicaraguans claim that the treaty was signed under United States
pressure and military occupation and thus does not constitute a sovereign decision, while Colombia argues that the treaty's final ratification in 1930, when U.S. forces were already on their way out, confirms its validity.
In 2001 Nicaragua filed claims with the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) over the disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 km² in the Caribbean, which includes the islands of San Andrés and Providencia. Colombia has claimed that the ICJ has no jurisdiction over the matter and has increased its naval and police presence in the islands. It has also prepared the legal defense of its case that will be presented before the tribunal. In a preliminary decision the Court has sided with Colombia on the question of sovereignty over the Islands (47 km²) but has agreed with Nicaragua that the rest of the maritime accidents is yet to be assigned according to the law of the sea and that the 82nd meridian is according to the Nicaraguan government not a maritime border. the Court said the islands belong to Colombia but as far as the maritime border and that it had competency to set that border to rule a final verdict on the dispute. In addition, Colombia and Honduras
signed a maritime boundary treaty in 1999 which implicitly accepts Colombian sovereignty over the islands.
Nicaragua
, Honduras
and El Salvador
have a coastline along the Gulf of Fonseca
and have been involved in a lengthly dispute over the rights to the gulf
and the islands located there within In 1992, a chamber of the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) decided the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute, of which the gulf dispute was a part. The ICJ
determined that Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador were to share control of the Gulf of Fonseca. El Salvador was awarded the islands of Meanguera and Meanguerita, and Honduras was awarded the island of El Tigre
. Nicaragua was not a party to that dispute and is therefore not bound by the decision.
in 1888 and by the judgment of the Central American Court of Justice in 1916 http://content.glin.gov/summary/240739, the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica runs along the right bank of the San Juan River
, from its mouth in the Caribbean
port of San Juan del Norte
(formerly known as Greytown), to a point located three miles downstream from an old fortification known as Castillo Viejo
("Old Castle"), originally built to guard the access to Lake Nicaragua
. Nicaragua is therefore sovereign
over all of the Río San Juan
, but Costa Rica has the perpetual right to navigate with "purposes of commerce" over the part of the river where the right bank is the border between the two countries. Costa Rica also has the right to accompany shipments of merchandise with "revenue cutters" to help ensure the payment of tariff
s (a stipulation which has been rendered obsolete by the free trade agreements among Central American countries), but president Cleveland's 1888 award denied Costa Rica the right to navigate the river with "vessels of war," except with the consent of Nicaragua.
The treaty of 1858 also states that no taxes would be imposed on Costa Rican trade in goods, except by mutual agreement. A dispute emerged in 1998 when Nicaragua forbade the transit of Costa Rican policemen in the river, which Nicaragua claimed to be a breach of sovereignty, and imposed a US$25 fee, as well as a visa requirement, for any Costa Rican tourists who entered the San Juan River, alleging that the Spanish language phrase con objetos de comercio, which had usually been translated (including in President Cleveland's awards) as "with purposes of commerce," in fact had to be read as "with articles of commerce," and that tourists were not "articles." Costa Rican filed suit before the International Court of Justice
(ICJ), in The Hague
, which ruled in 2009 that con objetos de comercio had to be read as "with purposes of trade," and that Nicaragua had therefore breached its treaty obligations by preventing free navigation with purposes of commercial tourism. On the other hand, the ICJ also ruled that Costa Rican police forces did not have the right to navigate the San Juan River with arms and ammunition, or to use the river to resupply their posts along the right bank. The ICJ also ruled that Nicaragua was obliged to recognize a customary right by Costa Rican inhabitants of the right bank of the river to practice subsistence fishing.
Historically, the dispute over the San Juan River has been exacerbated by the possibility that it might become part of a Nicaragua Canal
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The opening of the Panama Canal
in 1914, as well as Nicaragua's current construction of a dry ecocanal
, have reduced the importance of the San Juan River as a possible route for interoceanic trade and have therefore, to some extent, eased the tensions between Nicaragua and Costa Rica over use of that waterway. Disputes between the two countries concerning the river and the associated frontier have nonetheless recurred in recent years.
by the Nicaraguan government in the area of Isla Calero
. Costa Rica claims that violation of its sovereignty took place as Nicaraguan troops had entered Costa Rican territory, and the dredging of the river caused environmental damage in the wetland
s at Isla Calero
, which is part of the island nature reserve
, in an area that is owned by the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment
. Nicaragua rejected all claims and replied that, in fact, Costa Ricans had been invading their territory. The Costa Rican government responded by sending 70 police reinforcements to the border area on October 22nd. Nicaragua stationed around 50 soldiers in Isla Calero
Costa Rica claimed it was a military incursion and presented a complaint before the Organization of American States
(OAS). On November 12, by a vote of 22 to 2, the OAS ambassadors approved a resolution requesting Costa Rica and Nicaragua to pull out their troops from a conflict zone along their common border and to hold talks to settle their dispute. Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega
discarded the possibility of withdrawing the troops and disregarded OAS resolution because his government considers that this organization does not have jurisdiction to resolve border disputes. On November 18, 2010, Costa Rica filed proceedings against Nicaragua in the International Court of Justice
.
chose to be part of Costa Rica, becoming Guanacaste Province
. Costa Rica annexed Guanacaste, in exchange for giving up her claims to sovereignty over the San Juan River and the Canal Route. However, when tensions between the nations rise over Costa Rica's rights of navigation in the river, Nicaragua often brings up the topic of Guanacaste as a counterpoint to the argument.
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...
over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank
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:...
. With respect to the maritime boundary
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,...
question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among 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...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, and Nicaragua likely would be required. Nicaragua also has a maritime boundary dispute with Honduras in the Caribbean Sea
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....
and a boundary dispute over the Rio San Juan
San Juan River (Nicaragua)
The San Juan River , also known as El Desaguadero , is a 192.06 km river that flows east out of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean Sea. A large section of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica runs on the right bank of the river...
with Costa Rica.
San Andres y Providencia
Privateer
A privateer is a private person or ship authorized by a government by letters of marque to attack foreign shipping during wartime. Privateering was a way of mobilizing armed ships and sailors without having to spend public money or commit naval officers...
Henry Morgan
Henry Morgan
Admiral Sir Henry Morgan was an Admiral of the Royal Navy, a privateer, and a pirate who made a name for himself during activities in the Caribbean, primarily raiding Spanish settlements...
took over the islands until 1689. In 1803, after Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
's Viceroyalty of New Granada
Viceroyalty of New Granada
The Viceroyalty of New Granada was the name given on 27 May 1717, to a Spanish colonial jurisdiction in northern South America, corresponding mainly to modern Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, and Venezuela. The territory corresponding to Panama was incorporated later in 1739...
had been reestablished in 1739, the archipelago and the province of Veraguas – covering the western territory of 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...
and the eastern coast of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
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...
– were added to its area of jurisdiction. In the later colonial era the territory was administered from the province of Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia
Cartagena de Indias , is a large Caribbean beach resort city on the northern coast of Colombia in the Caribbean Coast Region and capital of Bolívar Department...
.
After gaining its independence, the inhabitants of the islands -who had been under the control of Louis Aury- Louis-Michel Aury
Louis-Michel Aury
Louis-Michel Aury was a French Corsair operating in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean during the early 19th century.Aury was born in Paris, France, in about 1788. He served in the French Navy, but from 1802 served in privateer ships...
, voluntarily adhered to the Republic of Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
in 1822 and control over them was transferred to the department of Magdalena. Subsequently, the United Provinces of Central America (UPCA) did not recognize the occupation of the islands and claimed ownership over them, while Colombia in turn protested the UPCA's occupation of the eastern coast of modern day Nicaragua. The UPCA federation dissolved in civil war between 1838–1840 and the resulting state of Nicaragua
Nicaragua
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...
carried on with the dispute, as did the Republic of the New Granada (made up of modern 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...
and 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...
) that emerged from the dissolution of Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia
Gran Colombia is a name used today for the state that encompassed much of northern South America and part of southern Central America from 1819 to 1831. This short-lived republic included the territories of present-day Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador, Panama, northern Peru and northwest Brazil. The...
.
Colombia later established a local administration ("intendencia") in the islands during 1912. The signing of the Esguerra-Bárcenas treaty in 1928 between both governments temporarily resolved the dispute in favor of Colombia. However, since 1980, when the Sandinista government assumed power in Nicaragua, a constitutional reform was enacted and the treaty was renounced.
Nicaraguans claim that the treaty was signed under United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
pressure and military occupation and thus does not constitute a sovereign decision, while Colombia argues that the treaty's final ratification in 1930, when U.S. forces were already on their way out, confirms its validity.
In 2001 Nicaragua filed claims 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) over the disputed maritime boundary involving 50,000 km² in the Caribbean, which includes the islands of San Andrés and Providencia. Colombia has claimed that the ICJ has no jurisdiction over the matter and has increased its naval and police presence in the islands. It has also prepared the legal defense of its case that will be presented before the tribunal. In a preliminary decision the Court has sided with Colombia on the question of sovereignty over the Islands (47 km²) but has agreed with Nicaragua that the rest of the maritime accidents is yet to be assigned according to the law of the sea and that the 82nd meridian is according to the Nicaraguan government not a maritime border. the Court said the islands belong to Colombia but as far as the maritime border and that it had competency to set that border to rule a final verdict on the dispute. In addition, Colombia and Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
signed a maritime boundary treaty in 1999 which implicitly accepts Colombian sovereignty over the islands.
Gulf of Fonseca
Nicaragua
Nicaragua
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...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
and 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...
have a coastline along the Gulf of Fonseca
Gulf of Fonseca
The Gulf of Fonseca , part of the Pacific Ocean, is a gulf in Central America, bordering El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua.-History:Fonseca Bay was discovered in 1522 by Gil Gonzalez de Avila, and named by him after his patron, Archbishop Juan Fonseca, the implacable enemy of Columbus.In 1849, E. G...
and have been involved in a lengthly dispute over the rights to the gulf
Headlands and bays
Headlands and bays are two related features of the coastal environment.- Geology and geography :Headlands and bays are often found on the same coastline. A bay is surrounded by land on three sides, whereas a headland is surrounded by water on three sides. Headlands are characterized by high,...
and the islands located there within In 1992, a chamber of 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) decided the Land, Island and Maritime Frontier Dispute, of which the gulf dispute was a part. The ICJ
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...
determined that Nicaragua, Honduras and El Salvador were to share control of the Gulf of Fonseca. El Salvador was awarded the islands of Meanguera and Meanguerita, and Honduras was awarded the island of El Tigre
El Tigre Island
El Tigre is an island located in the Gulf of Fonseca, a body of water on the Pacific coast of Central America. The island is a conical basaltic stratovolcano and the southernmost volcano in Honduras. It belongs to Valle department...
. Nicaragua was not a party to that dispute and is therefore not bound by the decision.
Boundary dispute along the San Juan River
According to the Cañas-Jerez Treaty of 1858, as reaffirmed and interpreted by the arbitration of U.S. president Grover ClevelandGrover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
in 1888 and by the judgment of the Central American Court of Justice in 1916 http://content.glin.gov/summary/240739, the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica runs along the right bank of the San Juan River
San Juan River (Nicaragua)
The San Juan River , also known as El Desaguadero , is a 192.06 km river that flows east out of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean Sea. A large section of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica runs on the right bank of the river...
, from its mouth in the Caribbean
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....
port of San Juan del Norte
San Juan del Norte
San Juan de Nicaragua, formerly known as San Juan del Norte and known in English as Greytown, is a town and municipality in the Río San Juan department of Nicaragua.-Geography:...
(formerly known as Greytown), to a point located three miles downstream from an old fortification known as Castillo Viejo
El Castillo (village)
El Castillo is a village of about 1500 people situated on the southern bank of the Río San Juan in southern Nicaragua. It is one of 27 comarcas of the municipality of El Castillo, a subdivision of the Río San Juan Department. The village is situated approximately 6 kilometers from the border with...
("Old Castle"), originally built to guard the access to Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua
Lake Nicaragua or Cocibolca or Granada or is a vast freshwater lake in Nicaragua of tectonic origin. With an area of , it is the largest lake in Central America, the 19th largest lake in the world and the 9th largest in the Americas. It is slightly smaller than Lake Titicaca. With an elevation...
. Nicaragua is therefore sovereign
Sovereignty
Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a geographic area, such as a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
over all of the Río San Juan
San Juan River (Nicaragua)
The San Juan River , also known as El Desaguadero , is a 192.06 km river that flows east out of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean Sea. A large section of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica runs on the right bank of the river...
, but Costa Rica has the perpetual right to navigate with "purposes of commerce" over the part of the river where the right bank is the border between the two countries. Costa Rica also has the right to accompany shipments of merchandise with "revenue cutters" to help ensure the payment of tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....
s (a stipulation which has been rendered obsolete by the free trade agreements among Central American countries), but president Cleveland's 1888 award denied Costa Rica the right to navigate the river with "vessels of war," except with the consent of Nicaragua.
The treaty of 1858 also states that no taxes would be imposed on Costa Rican trade in goods, except by mutual agreement. A dispute emerged in 1998 when Nicaragua forbade the transit of Costa Rican policemen in the river, which Nicaragua claimed to be a breach of sovereignty, and imposed a US$25 fee, as well as a visa requirement, for any Costa Rican tourists who entered the San Juan River, alleging that the Spanish language phrase con objetos de comercio, which had usually been translated (including in President Cleveland's awards) as "with purposes of commerce," in fact had to be read as "with articles of commerce," and that tourists were not "articles." Costa Rican filed suit before 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), in The Hague
The Hague
The Hague is the capital city of the province of South Holland in the Netherlands. With a population of 500,000 inhabitants , it is the third largest city of the Netherlands, after Amsterdam and Rotterdam...
, which ruled in 2009 that con objetos de comercio had to be read as "with purposes of trade," and that Nicaragua had therefore breached its treaty obligations by preventing free navigation with purposes of commercial tourism. On the other hand, the ICJ also ruled that Costa Rican police forces did not have the right to navigate the San Juan River with arms and ammunition, or to use the river to resupply their posts along the right bank. The ICJ also ruled that Nicaragua was obliged to recognize a customary right by Costa Rican inhabitants of the right bank of the river to practice subsistence fishing.
Historically, the dispute over the San Juan River has been exacerbated by the possibility that it might become part of a Nicaragua Canal
Nicaragua Canal
The Inter-Oceanic Nicaragua Canal was a proposed waterway through Nicaragua to connect the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean...
connecting the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The opening of the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
in 1914, as well as Nicaragua's current construction of a dry ecocanal
Ecocanal
The Nicaraguan Ecocanal is a project under construction in Nicaragua to build deepwater port facilities on the Atlantic Ocean coast, to link to the existing seaport of Corinto on the Pacific Ocean. They would be connected by a rail system to transport containerized and bulk cargo overland...
, have reduced the importance of the San Juan River as a possible route for interoceanic trade and have therefore, to some extent, eased the tensions between Nicaragua and Costa Rica over use of that waterway. Disputes between the two countries concerning the river and the associated frontier have nonetheless recurred in recent years.
2010 Isla Calero dispute
In October 2010 began a dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua regarding the dredging of 33 kilometres (20.5 mi) of the San Juan RiverSan Juan River (Nicaragua)
The San Juan River , also known as El Desaguadero , is a 192.06 km river that flows east out of Lake Nicaragua into the Caribbean Sea. A large section of the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica runs on the right bank of the river...
by the Nicaraguan government in the area of Isla Calero
Isla Calero
Isla Calero is a Costa Rican island, the biggest island in Costa Rica, and the biggest along the San Juan River, which marks the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The island lies between the San Juan , the Río Colorado of Costa Rica , and the Caribbean Sea...
. Costa Rica claims that violation of its sovereignty took place as Nicaraguan troops had entered Costa Rican territory, and the dredging of the river caused environmental damage in the wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s at Isla Calero
Isla Calero
Isla Calero is a Costa Rican island, the biggest island in Costa Rica, and the biggest along the San Juan River, which marks the border between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. The island lies between the San Juan , the Río Colorado of Costa Rica , and the Caribbean Sea...
, which is part of the island nature reserve
Nature reserve
A nature reserve is a protected area of importance for wildlife, flora, fauna or features of geological or other special interest, which is reserved and managed for conservation and to provide special opportunities for study or research...
, in an area that is owned by the Costa Rican Ministry of the Environment
MINAE
MINAE, the Ministry of Environment and Energy or in Spanish , is part of the government of Costa Rica.-Agencies:*SINAC - National System of Conservation Areas*DGGM - Geology and Mining General Directorate...
. Nicaragua rejected all claims and replied that, in fact, Costa Ricans had been invading their territory. The Costa Rican government responded by sending 70 police reinforcements to the border area on October 22nd. Nicaragua stationed around 50 soldiers in Isla Calero
Costa Rica claimed it was a military incursion and presented a complaint before the Organization of American States
Organization of American States
The Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
(OAS). On November 12, by a vote of 22 to 2, the OAS ambassadors approved a resolution requesting Costa Rica and Nicaragua to pull out their troops from a conflict zone along their common border and to hold talks to settle their dispute. Nicaragua's President 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...
discarded the possibility of withdrawing the troops and disregarded OAS resolution because his government considers that this organization does not have jurisdiction to resolve border disputes. On November 18, 2010, Costa Rica filed proceedings against Nicaragua in 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...
.
Historical disputes
In an 1825 plebiscite, the region of Partido de NicoyaPartido de Nicoya
The Partido de Nicoya was a major part of what is now the Guanacaste province in Costa Rica. Originally the territory was bounded on the northeast by the La Flor river and Lake Cocibolca, or Lake Nicaragua, on the south by Costa Rica , and on the east by a line that joins the northernmost part of...
chose to be part of Costa Rica, becoming Guanacaste Province
Guanacaste Province
Guanacaste is a province of Costa Rica located in the northwestern part of the country, along the coast of the Pacific Ocean. To the north it borders Nicaragua. To the east is the Alajuela Province, and to the southeast is the Puntarenas Province. It is the most sparsely populated of all the...
. Costa Rica annexed Guanacaste, in exchange for giving up her claims to sovereignty over the San Juan River and the Canal Route. However, when tensions between the nations rise over Costa Rica's rights of navigation in the river, Nicaragua often brings up the topic of Guanacaste as a counterpoint to the argument.
See also
- 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....
- Colombia-Nicaragua relationsColombia-Nicaragua relationsColombia–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...
- History of NicaraguaHistory of NicaraguaNicaragua is the least densely populated nation in Central America, with a demographic similar in size to its smaller neighbors. It is located about midway between Mexico and Colombia, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. Nicaragua ranges from the Caribbean Sea on the...
External links
- Dispute regarding Navigational and Related Rights (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) International Court of Justice
- San Juan River -- Border dispute with Costa Rica and Nicaragua
- Lawsuit and corresponding addenda, concerning the San Juan River, brought before the Central American Court of Justice by Costa Rica against Nicaragua, 1916