Colombian President Alvaro Uribe has sought to calm the waters over an incident on the high seas involving the Colombian navy and Nicaraguan shrimping vessels.
The Nicaraguans claim the incident of February 10 involved a Colombian frigate which “intimidated” flag-bearing fishing and shrimping boats in Nicaraguan waters.
A note of protest delivered to the Colombian ambassador to Nicaragua claimed the latitude and longitude of the standoff confirmed its position in Nicaraguan territorial waters and stated:
“…This can only be considered a violation of Nicaraguan sovereignty.”
The note went on to request that “measures be taken so that events of this nature may not be repeated.”
The diplomatic incident is the latest in a series of confrontations involving the contentious dividing lines between Nicaraguan coastal waters and the island territories of San Andres, Providence and Santa Catalina, ceded to Colombia through the 1928-1930 Esguerra-Bárcenas Treaty.
In mid-December a United Nations court was called upon re-affirm the treaty’s terms in the face of Nicaraguan requests to rule on sovereignty.
Speaking from Bogotá in response to this latest incident, Colombian President Alvaro Uribe sought to ease tensions, striking a conciliatory tone:
“I call upon my compatriots to be completely respectful of the coast and waters of Nicaragua and the status of the 82nd Meridian.”
He added that Colombia was a country characterized by its respect for law and “not bellicose towards its neighbours.”
Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua’s recently re-anointed president, has argued in the past that the treaty was in fact annulled by his Sandinista government in the 1980s. He has also claimed it to be legally invalid as it was signed at a time when Nicaragua suffered US occupation.
