While the overthrow of President Manuel Zelaya in Honduras was last year’s major political crisis in Central America, the evolving border conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua is showing signs of becoming this year’s big draw and potentially attracting international attention. On October 21, Nicaragua deployed soldiers on Calero Island inside Costa Rican territory along the San Juan River claiming it was only conducting channel deepening work on the river. Costa Rica, which has no army, mobilized its national police and asked the Organization of American States (OAS) in Washington, DC to intervene. Following a three-day fact-finding visit to the disputed zone by OAS Secretary General Jos\u00e9 Miguel Insulza, the OAS today passed a resolution calling for the withdrawal of all military or security forces from the area in order to begin a dialogue on the of ownership of Calero Island, where the Nicaraguan Army has now apparently built a makeshift base.<\/p>\n
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua has denied the incursion and said Nicaraguan troops were on the ground to fight drug trafficking. In response to the resolution, which was supported by a vote of 22-2, he stated that the OAS does not have the authority to rule on border disputes, and thus his government would not abide it. President Laura Chinchilla of Costa Rica has announced that she will raise the issue with the United Nations Security Council.<\/p>\n
President Ortega’s refusal to acknowledge the authority of the OAS has suddenly transformed the bilateral border dispute into a regional problem. An article in today’s edition of Israel’s Haaretz<\/em> newspaper revealing an alleged plan by the governments of Iran, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to build a canal through the San Juan River, linking the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, suggests the conflict may also have the makings of an international crisis. Haaretz<\/em> reports that the project would be funded by Iran. According to the article, “Western intelligence agencies are closely following the path of heavy machinery equipment to Nicaragua as well as the activities of Iranians in the Nicaraguan capital Managua.” (11\/13\/10) (photo of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Daniel Ortega courtesy Internet)<\/p>\n