Costa Rica- Nicaraguan Tensions

   Just this past weekend, something big occurred within Central American and Costa Rican relations. On the northern border of Costa Rica with Nicaragua, is the San Juan River, which lies on the Nicaraguan side, but marks the border. Within the last month, The Nicaraguan government had started a dredging project, and this weekend it came to light that the left over sediment was being pumped into Costa Rican territory, damaging goods and property. In a very uncommon show of force, the Costa Rican government sent police to the area in order to investigate these allegations. After they had determined that there had been damage, and had retrieved video evidence of the Nicaraguan pipes being placed in Costa Rican lands, the government was able to file a formal complaint, and most recent news says that the dredging had been called off, and that fisherman had heard over their radios calls for the pipes to be moved back to the Nicaraguan side.

   Besides the fact that the Nicaraguan side intruded and damaged Costa Rican property, the head of this entire project is Eden Pastora, known as Comandante Pastora, a Nicaraguan Revolutionary hero. His violent past makes the motives of these actions questionable, with many Costa Ricans believing there were aggressive intentions. All of this becomes even more frightening when you consider that the small country of Costa Rica has no military, only a diminutive police force that is traditionally not professionally trained. Since being in Costa Rica I have heard a lot about Costa Rican- Nicaraguan relations. It is very common to hear about the problem of illegal immigration into Costa Rica from Nicaragua, a problem that parallels that of the USA and Mexico. However, due to its traditionally non-violent, military-less past, this intrusion has stirred up a lot of resentment. While this is an obvious violation of the border, Costa Rican officials have handled the situation well, sending in many investigators before coming to conclusions. Central America has unfortunately encountered its fair share of violence and tumultuous relations, and it would be ideal to be able to settle this dispute diplomatically in order to avoid any further conflicts. If a military conflict were to erupt, this would be a huge blow to Latin American stability overall, as the International community would be obligated to intervene on behalf of the unarmed Costa Ricans. This could create a problem with countries taking side and sending in various forms of support.

   The good news is that this weekend I was in the province of Guanacaste, lying on the Nicaraguan border and I heard nothing of this news, meaning the problem is not yet serious enough to be affecting every day life. Lets hope it stays that way!