With the world distracted by currency fights, European debt problems, and other economic challenges, Nicaragua has quietly invaded and occupied the sovereign territory of Costa Rica. It is an act of naked aggression that deserves to be condemned and resisted by governments everywhere, yet most Americans have probably read little or nothing about it.
Here’s a brief synopsis of what happened. At the direction of their government, Nicaraguans were dredging the San Juan River, which forms a section of their southern border with Costa Rica. They were doing so in a manner that was damaging many Costa Rican properties, which understandably prompted San José to complain. Then, Nicaraguan military troops entered and occupied a large river island (Calero Island) that has traditionally been considered part of Costa Rican territory. Indeed, they even raised a Nicaraguan flag there. The soldiers are refusing to leave Calero Island, and Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega is insisting—against all evidence—that the island belongs to Managua.
Initially, Managua alleged that an error made by Google maps was the reason Nicaraguan soldiers entered another sovereign nation. And while Google soon admitted an error in its map and corrected the mistake, Nicaragua, nevertheless, still claims the land as its own and hasn’t removed its troops from Costa Rica.
Costa Rica, mind you, does not have an army, but it has dispatched a small police detachment to the region and urged the Organization of American States (OAS) to act. After traveling to the San Juan River, OAS leader José Miguel Insulza recommended that all military or security personnel be removed from the disputed area so that proper diplomatic negotiations could proceed. On November 13, the OAS Permanent Council approved a resolution endorsing his recommendations, with 22 countries voting in favor of it. Nicaragua and Venezuela both opposed the resolution, while Ecuador, Dominica, and Guyana abstained from the vote. (Ecuador and Dominica are members of the Caracas-led Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, and Guyana relies on Venezuelan oil.) In response, Ortega has threatened to remove his country from the OAS. (At the same time, he continues to oppose the readmittance of democratic Honduras, which was expelled following the legal, constitutional ouster of President Manuel Zelaya in 2009.)
Why would Ortega deliberately trigger such a conflict? Simple: to increase his domestic support ahead of next year’s presidential election, and to advance his radical project of turning Nicaragua into a mini-Venezuela.
Nicaraguan politicians of all ideological bents have a long history of rattling sabers toward Costa Rica. The right-wing Somoza dictatorship engaged in such behavior, as did the leftist Sandinista regime (led by Ortega) during the 1980s and the nominally “conservative” Alemán government during the 1990s. Ramping up tensions with their southern neighbor is an easy way for Nicaraguan leaders to inflame nationalist sentiment and rally public support for the incumbent administration.
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