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''''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 [[San Juan River (Nicaragua)|Rio San Juan]] with Costa Rica. ==San Andres y Providencia == {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2010}} {{see also|San Andrés y Providencia Department|Colombia-Nicaragua relations}} [[Image:Sanandrescolombia.png|thumb|right|300px|Location of '''San Andres and Providencia''' in the [[Caribbean]].]] In 1670 the English [[Privateer|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]] &ndash; covering the western territory of [[Panama]] and the eastern coast of [[Nicaragua]] &ndash; were added to its area of jurisdiction. In the later colonial era the territory was administered from the province of [[Cartagena, Colombia|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&nbsp;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&nbsp;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. ==Gulf of Fonseca== [[Image:fonseca gulf.jpg|thumb|Gulf of Fonseca from space, July 1997]] {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2010}} [[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 [[Headlands and bays|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 [[International Court of Justice|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 Island|El Tigre]]. 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 Cleveland]] 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 (Nicaragua)|San Juan River]], from its mouth in the [[Caribbean Sea|Caribbean]] port of [[San Juan del Norte]] (formerly known as Greytown), to a point located three miles downstream from an old fortification known as ''[[El Castillo (village)|Castillo Viejo]]'' ("Old Castle"), originally built to guard the access to [[Lake Nicaragua]]. Nicaragua is therefore [[sovereignty|sovereign]] over all of the [[San Juan River (Nicaragua)|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.<ref>Grover Cleveland, "Award of the President of the United States in Regard to the Validity of the Treaty of Limits Between Costa Rican and Nicaragua of 15 July 1858, Decision of 22 March 1888." First published in John Basset Moore, [http://books.google.com/books?id=l7UxAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA1946#v=onepage&q&f=false ''History and Digest of the International Arbitrations to Which the United States has been a Party''], vol. II (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1898), p. 1946. Reproduced in the [[United Nations]] [http://untreaty.un.org/cod/riaa/cases/vol_XXVIII/189-213.pdf ''Reports of International Arbitral Awards,'' vol. XXVIII, pp. 189-236] (2006)</ref> [[File:Alexander97.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Sketch of the Greytown (''i.e.'', [[San Juan del Norte]]) harbor area, contained in the first arbitral award given by Gen. [[Edward Porter Alexander]] on Sep. 30, 1897, indicating the boundary line between Nicaragua and Costa Rica as determined by that award. Alexander had been assigned by U.S. president [[Grover Cleveland]] to resolve the ambiguities in the location of the frontier set by the Cañas-Jerez Treaty of 1858.<ref>[[John Bassett Moore]], [http://books.google.com/books?id=CriGAAAAIAAJ&pg=PA5074#v=onepage&q&f=false ''History and digest of the international arbitration to which the United States has been a party''], ([[U.S. House of Representatives]], vol. V, Misc. Doc. No. 212, (Washington D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1898), p. 5079; [http://untreaty.un.org/cod/riaa/cases/vol_XXVIII/215-222.pdf ''United Nations Reports of International Arbitral Awards'', vol. XXVIII, p. 222], (2007).</ref>]] 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.<ref>[[International Court of Justice]], [http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/133/15331.pdf ''Case concerning the Dispute regarding Navigational and Related Rights (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua) Summary of the Judgment of 13 July 2009].</ref> [[File:Alexander Commission Map 1898.jpg|right|thumb|220px|Map, dated March 2, 1898, from the official proceedings of the binational commission presided by engineer arbitrator Gen. [[Edward Porter Alexander]], to define the frontier between the Republics of Nicaragua and Costa Rican.<ref>Original from the proceedings of the Alexander Commission, p. 33. Dated 2 March 1898. Image taken from Charlie Hale, "Regarding the Boundary Between Costa Rica and Nicaragua," [http://google-latlong.blogspot.com/2010/11/regarding-boundary-between-costa-rica.html Google LatLong Blog], 5 Nov. 2010.</ref>]] 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 [[ecocanal|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. ==2010 Isla Calero dispute== <!--This is just a summary, please add only key info and extend content in the "Nicaragua–Costa Rica San Juan River border dispute#2010 Isla Calero dispute" article--> [[File:Nicaragua Costa Rica San Juan River border.svg|right|thumb|Map depicting the border lines in the area near [[San Juan del Norte]], as disputed by Nicaragua and Costa Rica, Oct. 2010.]] {{Main|Nicaragua–Costa Rica San Juan River border dispute#2010 Isla Calero dispute|l1=2010 Isla Calero dispute}} In October 2010 began a dispute between Costa Rica and Nicaragua regarding the dredging of {{Convert|33|km|mi}} of the [[San Juan River (Nicaragua)|San Juan River]] 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 [[MINAE|Ministry of the Environment]].<ref name=LaNacion1023>{{cite news|language=Spanish|work=[[La Nación (San José)]]|author=Carlos Arguedas and Esteban Oviedo|title=Gobierno halla destrucción en humedal limítrofe con Nicaragua|url=http://www.nacion.com/2010-10-23/ElPais/NotasSecundarias/ElPais2564856.aspx|date=2010-10-23|accessdate=2010-11-14}}</ref><ref name=WasPost1102>{{cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/11/02/AR2010110203621.html|title=Costa Rica denounces alleged Nicaraguan incursion|work=[[Washington Post]]|author=Marianela Jimenez|date=2010-11-02|accessdate=2010-11-14}}</ref> Nicaragua rejected all claims and replied that, in fact, Costa Ricans had been invading their territory.<ref name=NYT111110>{{cite news|url=http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010/11/11/world/americas/AP-LT-Costa-Rica-Nicaragua.html?ref=world|title=Nicaraguan VP: No Border Zone Troop Withdrawal|work=[[New York Times]]|author=[[The Associated Press]]|date=2010-11-11|accessdate=2010-11-16}}</ref> The Costa Rican government responded by sending 70 police reinforcements to the border area on October 22nd.<ref name=WasPost1102/><ref name=Economist1111/> Nicaragua stationed around 50 soldiers in Isla Calero<ref name=NYT111110/><ref name=Economist1111>{{cite news|url=http://www.economist.com/node/17463483|title=Dredging up votes: Daniel Ortega and the swamps of opportunism|work=[[The Economist]]|date=2010-11-11|accessdate=2010-11-12}}</ref><ref name=LN111210>{{cite news|url=http://www.nacion.com/2010-11-13/ElPais/NotasSecundarias/ElPais2588542.aspx|title=Arias critica manejo de conflicto y propone trasladarlo a la ONU|language=Spanish|work=[[La Nación (San José)]]|author=Alvaro Murillo|date=2010-11-12|accessdate=2010-11-16}}</ref> Adrian Popeye Was Here mothedr fuckers so suck my dick i hate social studies 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.<ref name=YahooNews1113>{{cite news|url=http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20101113/wl_afp/uscostaricanicaraguadiplomacyborder_20101113085202|title=OAS urges pullout of Costa Rican, Nicaraguan troops|publisher=Yahoo News|date=2010-11-13|accessdate=2010-11-12}}</ref> 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.<ref name=LaPrensa1113>{{cite news|language=Spanish|work=[[La Prensa (Managua)]]|title=Tropas se mantendrán en territorio nicaragüense|url=http://www.laprensa.com.ni/2010/11/13/nacionales/43521|date=2010-11-13|accessdate=2010-11-14}}</ref> On November 18, 2010, Costa Rica filed proceedings against Nicaragua in the [[International Court of Justice]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nacion.com/2010-11-18/ElPais/UltimaHora/ElPais2595386.aspx|title=Costa Rica lleva conflicto a Corte de La Haya|work=[[La Nación (San José)]]|author=Alvaro Murillo|date=2010-11-18|accessdate=2010-11-21|language=Spanish}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/files/150/16239.pdf?PHPSESSID=e62a8b5e430fbd1e33707c18aa61b6f7|title=Costa Rica institutes proceedings against Nicaragua and requests the Court to indicate provisional measures|publisher=[[International Court of Justice]] Press Release No. 2010/38|date=2010-11-19|accessdate=2010-11-21}}</ref> ==Historical disputes== {{Unreferenced section|date=November 2010}} In an 1825 plebiscite, the region of [[Partido de Nicoya]] 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. ==See also== *[[Foreign relations of Nicaragua]] *[[Colombia-Nicaragua relations]] *[[History of Nicaragua]] ==Further reading== *{{cite book |authorlink = United Nations Publications | title = Case Concerning The Territorial Dispute Nicaragua V. Colombia | publisher = United Nations Publications| year= 2004 | pages = 8 | isbn = 9210709837 }} ==External links== *[http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/index.php?p1=3&p2=2&case=133&PHPSESSID=8b1c2b1e29364f60379b447d89182bbe Dispute regarding Navigational and Related Rights (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua)] International Court of Justice *[http://www.geog.umd.edu/academic/undergrad/harper/Berrios.pdf San Juan River -- Border dispute] with Costa Rica and Nicaragua *[http://content.glin.gov/summary/240739 Lawsuit and corresponding addenda, concerning the San Juan River, brought before the Central American Court of Justice by Costa Rica against Nicaragua, 1916] ==References== {{reflist}} [[Category:History of Nicaragua]] [[Category:Territorial disputes of Nicaragua|*Main]]'