icj: application of the republic of costarica, proccedings (corte internacional de justicia: caso...

8/8/2019 ICJ: Application of the Republic of CostaRica, Proccedings (Corte internacional de Justicia: Caso Costa Rica-Nicaragua)

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APPLICATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF COSTA RICA INSTITUTINGPROCEEDINGS

To the RegistrarInternational Court of JusticeThe undersigned being duly authorized by the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica.Introduction1. On behalf of the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica and pursuant to Article 36,paragraphs 1 and 2; Article 40 of the Statute of the Court and Article 38 of the Rules of Court, 1have the honour to submit the present Application instituting proceedings against theGovernment of the Republic of Nicaragua. The case concems the incursion into, occupation ofand use by Nicaragua's Army of Costa Rican territory as well as breaches of Nicaragua'sobligations towards Costa Rica under the following:


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(d) the first and second arbitral awards rendered by Edward Porter Alexander datedrespectively 30 September 1897 and 20 December 1897 (the first and secondAlexander Awards);5

(e) the 1971 Convention on Wetlands of International Importance especially asWaterfowl Habitat (the Ramsar Convention);6

(f) the judgment of the Court of 13 July 2009 in the Case Concerning the DisputeRegarding Navigationa! and Re!ated Rights (Costa Rica v. Nicaragua); and(g) other applicable mIes and princip es of internationallaw.

2. By sending contingents of its armed forces to Costa Rican territory and establishingmilitary camps therein, Nicaragua is not only acting in outright breach of the establishedboundary regime between the two States, but also of the core founding principles of the UnitedNations, namely the principles of territorial integrity and the prohibition of the threat or use offorce against any State in accordance with Article 2(4) of the Charter; also endorsed as betweenthe parties in Articles 1, 19 and 29 of the Charter of the Organization of American States.7


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(b) the operation of the declarations of acceptance made respectively by the Republicof Costa Rica dated 20 F ebruary 1973, and by the Republic ofNicaragua dated 24September 1929 (as modified 23 October 2001), pursuant to Article 36(2) of theStatute of the Court.

Facts of the Present Dispute4. The facts underlying the present dispute are as follows. Nicaragua has, in two separateincidents, occupied the territory of Costa Rica in connection with the construction of a canalacross Costa Rican territory from the San Juan River to Laguna los Portillos (also known asHarbor Head Lagoon), and certain related works of dredging on the San Juan River. The firstincursion occurred on or about 18 October 2010, at the same time as President Ortega ofNicaragua gave the order to commence dredging works. Nicaragua was reported felling treesand depositing sediment from the dredging works on Costa Rican territory. After a briefwithdrawal, on or about 1 N ovember 2010 a second contingent of Nicaraguan troops enteredCosta Rican territory and established a camp. This second incursion has resulted in thecontinuing occupation by armed Nicaraguan military forces of an initial area of around three

of of


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not Costa Rica.,,9 ln relation to the dredging operation, Pastora has stated that he intends to,"clean the river and rescue it."l07. M ~ r e o v e r , Nicaragua intends by the artificial canalization of the San Juan River in thisway is to modify the natural watercourse which forms the boundary as set out in the first andsecond Alexander Awards. According to President Ortega:

"It is clear, here is Punta Castilla, where the first marker is located, where is it how do wecalI this? Ah yes, the first landmark, which is the one that serves as point of departure forthe marking down of the boundary between Nicaragua and Costa Rica, here is the lagoonHarbour Head, which logically belongs to Nicaragua, here is the famous channel that goesto Harbour Head and that unites [with] the San Juan River. And the San Juan Rivershould, in its normal course, retake this route and reach this lagoon, in an area where manyyears ago there was a great bay."ll

8. However, no such "great bay" has ever existed at or near this location. The "normalcourse" of the San Juan River was marked on the hand-drawn sketch map describing theboundary starting at Punta de Castilla and following the course of the San Juan River,(Alexander Minute N X of 2 March 1898, Volume l, p. 33): see page 5. The delimitation


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+y.: s .

" - ~ - - " ~ ~ - - : - : - - - " 1

3.3;1

- -_ . :x


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le 5 DESCONOCEN LAUDO Segun el Laudo Cleveland, la Frontera deNicaragua con Costa Rica inicia en Punta de Castilla, flll!llla1lWllilll1lilllll'"se extiende en la margen derecha de la Laguna delos Portillos 0 Harbour Head, y continua sobre elprimer cano hasta el rio San Juan. Costa Ricareclama como propio un promontorio desedimentos en la desembocadura dei rio San Juan,al que !lama isla Calero.


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The Costa Rica/Nicaragua Boundary

9. The 1858 Treaty of Limits between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, and the first and second

Alexander Awards, defined and settled with a permanent and definite character the territorial boundary

line between Costa Rica and Nicaragua (from Punta Castilla to the point three miles below Castillo

Viejo). The validity of the 1858 Treaty of Limits was upheld by the Cleveland Award of 1888,13

which

spelled out a number of Costa Rican rights, a task continued by the Court in 2009.14

10. The 1858 Treaty of Limits delimited the boundary between Costa Rica and Nicaragua from the

Caribbean Sea to the Pacific Ocean. The part of the boundary between a point three English miles

below Castillo Viejo and the Caribbean Sea was clearly fixed as following the right bank of the San

Juan River:

The dividing line between the two Republics, starting from the Northern Sea, shall begin

at the end of Punta de Castilla, at the mouth of the San Juan de Nicaragua river, and shall

run along the right bank of the said river up to a point of three English miles distant from

C till Vi j 15


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This transitional provIsIOn was terminated shortly thereafter with the promulgation of theRegulations for the port and population of San Juan deI Norte as approved in 1861,17 whenNicaragua recovered possession over the port and a condominium was established by Costa Ricaand Nicaragua over the Bay of San Juan pursuant to Article IV of the 1858 Treaty ofLimits.12. The Cleveland Award expressly confirmed this position:

"5. The boundary line between the Republics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, on theAtlantic side, begins at the extremity of Punta de Castilla at the mouth of the San Juan deNicaragua River, as they both existed on the 15th day of April 1858.

7. The branch of the River San Juan known as the Colorado River must not beconsidered as the boundary between the Republics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua in any partofits course.,,18

13. Following the Cleveland Award, the 1896 Delimitation Convention (Pacheco-Matus)19was concluded. Costa Rica and Nicaragua thereby agreed to name a Commission for the purpose

1.


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I have accordingly made personal inspection of this ground, and declare the initial

boundary to run as follows, to wit:

Its direction shall be due northeast and southwest, across the bank of sand, from the

Caribbean Sea into the waters of Harbor Head Lagoon. It shall pass at its nearest point,

300 feet on the northwest side from the small hut now standing in that vicinity. On

reaching the waters of Harbor Head Lagoon, the boundary line shall turn to the left, or

southeastward, and shall follow the waters edge around the harbour until it reaches the

river proper by the first channel met. Up this channel, and up the river proper, the line

shall continue to ascend as directed in the treaty.21

The hand-drawn sketch map portrayed in the Alexander Minute (page 5, above) illustrates clearly this

delimitation.22

15. The second Alexander Award settled the tracing and marking of the boundary line starting at

Punta Castilla, in the Caribbean Sea, until it reaches the point three English miles below Castillo Viejo,

along the southern bank of the San Juan River. Relevantly, the Second Award provided as follows:

Th C t Ri C i i d th t d t th t f th li


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Clearly, therefore, the consequence of any disagreement on the question of whether themeasurement is more or less accurate must be that the view of the party favouring greateraccuracy should prevail.1 therefore announce my award as follows: the Commissioners shall immediately proceedto measuring the Hne from the starting point to a point three miles below El Castillo Viejo,as proposed by Costa Rica. ,23

16. This depiction of the border line has consistently been respected and depicted, in aIlofficial maps of both countries, as constituting the international boundary line between CostaRica and Nicaragua for the last 113 years.24

17. As noted in Costa Rica's Memorial in the Case Concerning Navigational and RelatedRights,25 the San Juan River divides sorne 19.3 kilometres from the sea, continuing on itsnortherly arm as the San Juan, in the ordinary course emptying into the Caribbean Sea at the Bayof San Juan deI Norte. The Colorado River is the southern and larger stream: it runs entirelywithin Costa Rica, reaching the sea at Barra deI Colorado. The broader area concerned in thepresent dispute is referred to as Isla Calero; a landmass comprising sorne 151 square kilometres


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Portillos. This would have the effect of artificially cutting across Costa Rican territory and ofplacing what is clearly Costa Rican territory on the left bank of that canal.20. Furthermore, Nicaragua has expressed its intention to dredge the San Juan River from thenew canal to the point where the San Juan and Colorado rivers diverge. Nicaragua claims thatthe Colorado River ..

"was a river that did not have the same volume of flow as it currently has, and with thepassing of time, obstructions that took place at this point kept deviating the waters of theSan Juan River to the Colorado river. Thus, the Colorado River is fed in about 90% byNicaraguan waters, what are these Nicaraguan waters? The waters that corne from the northof our country, to drain the Managua lake, the great lake ofGranada and then drain throughthe San Juan River.,,27

21. Nicaragua tals the position that it is restoring the historie flow and channels of the SanJuan River. This is entirely inconsistent with the clear delimitation of the San Juan River as theboundary in this sector between Nicaragua and Costa Rica set out in the 1858 Treaty of Limits,the Cleveland Award and the first and second Alexander Awards. According to thoseinstruments, the Colorado River has always fallen exclusively within the territory of Costa Rica


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said River or any of its branches at any point where Costa Rica is entitled to navigate thesame.,,28

24. The Court referred to this passage in rejecting Nicaragua's request for a declaration of itsentitlement to dredge the San Juan River, stating,

"153. Nicaragua adds a further submission. It requests the Court 'to make a formaIdeclaration on the issues raised by Nicaragua in Section II of Chapter VII of her CounterMemorial, [and] in Section l, Chapter VI ofher Rejoinder'.The declaration requested is the following:

(v) Nicaragua has the right to dredge the San Juan in order to retum the flow of waterto that obtaining in 1858 even if this affects the flow of water to other present dayrecipients ofthis flow such as the Colorado River.'155 . . . . n any event it suffices for the Court to observe that the two questions thus raisedwere settled in the decision made in the Cleveland A ward. It was determined in paragraphs


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26. Last but not least, Nicaragua' s continuing emplacement of military personnel in CostaRican territory in spite of the OAS Resolution is an act of hostility contrary to the terms ofArticle IX of the 1858 Treaty ofLimits, which states that:

"Under no circumstances, and even in case that the Republics of Costa Rica and Nicaraguashouid unhappily find themseives in a state of war, neither of them shall be allowed tocommit any act of hostility against the other, whether in the port of San Juan deI Norte, orin the San Juan river, or the Lake ofNicaragua."

Attempts at a Diplomatie Settlement of the Dispute27. On 21 October 2010, after learning of the presence ofNicaraguan troops on Costa Ricanterritory, the Government ofCosta Rica, through its Foreign Ministry, submitted a formaI protestto the government of Nicaragua. Costa Rica requested that Nicaragua immediately cease anyaction or activity that would affect Costa Rican territory or sovereignty.28. In response, on 26 October, Nicaragua rejected Costa Rica's protest letter and in factaccused Costa Rica of conducting an incursion onto Nicaraguan territory.


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rej ected all calls for withdrawal and all means of negotiation. As a result, the Secretary Generalmade four recommendations to the Permanent Council of the OAS:

.. To "hold the Eighth Meeting of the Binational Commission in order to address as amatter of urgency aspects of the bilateral agenda as soon as possible and no later thanthe date originally agreed, with the assistance of the OAS";

III To "immediately resume the talks on aspects concerning the demarcation of theboundary line done to date, in accordance with the treaties and decisions in force";

.. "In order to create a favourable climate for dialogue between the two nations, toavoid the presence of military or security forces in the area, where their existencemight rouse tension"; and

III To "instruct the appropriate authorities to review and strengthen cooperationmechanisms between the two nations in order to prevent, control, and confront drugtrafficking, organized crime, and arms trafficking in the border area".30

31. Notwithstanding the fact that the area in question is Costa Rican territory, and the fact


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33. Despite the very strong support for the recommendations, the Nicaraguan Ambassador tothe OAS stated Nicaragua's intention not to comply with the Resolution: "We are going tochallenge this resolution. We are going to question it, and we are going to document our positionagainst this resolution, which was flawed from the outset and flawed in its conclusion".32 Thenext day, President Ortega made an even more vehement statement denouncing the OAS:

"In this meeting of the OAS the possibility of unconditional dialogue was really killed,killed, because they started to include conditioning elements and that kills unconditionaldialogue. And we, l repeat, as of princip e, are not withdrawing from an area ofNicaraguan territory on the border areas with the brother people of Costa Rica, with thebrother people of Honduras, nor in maritime zones, we are not withdrawing our armyforces or our police forces that fight against drug-trafficking. There is no withdrawinghere. And that proposaI from the OAS last night of 'approving', in inverted commas, whatthey are telling us is that we should leave free the territory to drug-trafficking, we do notaccept this '" we have lost aIl faith in the OAS. It would even be convenient to startworking on our withdrawal from the OAS. What is the OAS for? What are we doing in theOAS?,,33


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(b) The handling and storage of fuels in Costa Rican territory, with potential damage tothe wildlife of Costa Rica' s wildlife protected areas;

(c) The landing of Nicaraguan Arrny Helicopters without Costa Rican permission andin disregard of the fragile ecosystems in Costa Rica' s wildlife protected areas;

(d) The penetration by Nicaraguan armed vessels of Costa Rica's maritime territorialwaters in the Caribbean Sea;

36. Furthermore, the following Nicaraguan acts are directly related to Nicaragua's incursion,and its canal building and dredging activities:(e) the prohibition imposed by the Nicaraguan authorities on Costa Rican nationals

navigating the San Juan River in contravention of the 1858 Treaty of Limits and theCourt's Judgment of 13 July 2009;

(f) the use of the San Juan River to launch the incursion into Costa Rican territory andto commit acts of hostility against Costa Rica, in violation of article IX of the 1858Treaty ofLimits.

37. In particular, the following damage has been caused to Costa Rican territory by


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39. Reserving the right to further particularize the various breaches of Costa Rica's rights,Nicaragua has committed the following violations of internationallaw:

(a) Nicaragua has invaded and is currently occupying territory of the Republic ofCosta Rica, in breach of the 1858 Treaty of Limits, the first and second AlexanderA wards, the Charter of the Organization of American States, and the Charter ofthe United Nations;

(b) Nicaragua is damaging and destroying primary rainforests, wetlands and fragileecosystems located on Costa Rican territory;

(c) Nicaragua has started digging an artificial channel cutting across Costa Ricanterritory, in an attempt to divert the waters of the San Juan River from their naturalwatercourse;

(d) Nicaragua has prohibited navigation on the San Juan River by Costa Ricannationals, in direct contravention of 1858 Treaty of Limits and the Judgment ofthe Court of 13 July 2009;36

(e) Nicaragua is dredging and further plans to dredge the San Juan River for thepurpose of affecting the flow of water of the Colorado River of Costa Rica, and to


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its international obligations as referred to in paragraph 1 of this Application as regards theincursion into and occupation of Costa Rican territory, the serious damage inflicted to itsprotected rainforests and wetlands, and the damage intended to the Colorado River, wetlands andprotected ecosystems, as weIl as the dredging and canalization activities being carried out byNicaragua on the San Juan River. In particular the Court is requested to adjudge and declarethat, by its conduct, Nicaragua has breached:

(a) the territory of the Republic of Costa Rica, as agreed and delimited by the 1858Treaty of Limits, the Cleveland Award and the first and second AlexanderAwards;

(b) the fundamental principles of territorial integrity and the prohibition of use offorce under the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organizationof American States;

(c) the obligation imposed upon Nicaragua by Article IX of the 1858 Treaty of Limitsnot to use the San Juan River to carry out hostile acts;

(d) the obligation not to damage Costa Rican territory;(e) the obligation not to artificially channel the San Juan River away from its natural


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43. In accordance with the provisions of Article 31(2) of the Statute of the Court and Article35 (1) of its Rules, the Government of the Republic of Costa Rica states its intention to designateajudge ad hoc.

44. The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Costa Rica has appointed as Agent for theseproceedings Ambassador Edgar Ugalde, and as Co-Agents Ambassador Jorge Urbina and MrSergio Ugalde. It is requested that all communications ofthis case be notified to the Agent at thefollowing address:

Embassy of the Republic of Costa RicaLaan Copes van Cattenburch 462585GB, The HagueThe Netherlands.

Respectfully,


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List of Attachments

1. Treaty ofTerritorial Limits between Costa Rica and Nicaragua, San Jos, 15 April1858;

2. Arbitral award issued by the President of the United States of America, GroverCleveland, 22 March 1888;3. First Alexander Award, 30 September 1897;4. Second Alexander Award, 20 December 1897;5. Costa Rica-Nicaragua, Pact ofAmity, Washington, 21 February 1949;6. Spanish original transcript of speech given by President Ortega on 13 November2010;7. Copy of Resolution of the Organization of American States, 12 November 2010,

available as a Press Release at:http://www oas. org/en/media center/press release.asp ?sCodigo= E-16;

8. of to


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Attachment 1Costa Rica-Nicaragua, Treaty ofLimits (Cafias-Jrez), San Jos, 15 April 1858

(a) Original version in SpanishSource: Coleccion de las Leyes, Decretos y Ordenesexpedidospor los Supremos Poderes Legislativo yEjecutivo de Costa Rica en el ano de 1858, Tomo

XV, (San Jos: Imprenta de la Paz, 1871), 175 - 188


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4 ) f ' I ~ " .....D:l1' LAS. . . , . , ....

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:' . . . . . . ~ ; ; . _ . , . ' , : ' . . ..: . ' ; ; . , . ,., , . . l," .... !m ' ~ ~ . : ; ~ ~ . : 9 : E . 1858. ~ ~ ~ , ~ , , : ~ ; ; . , . , ; , : , , : ..

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(-tVisto en las diligenias.- ~ c o l T e & p o n d i e n t e s y-conBtand,?: que D. ,}Ianuel Leiva- natU!al de' la Re .publica de Honduras, r e u n ~ las c ~ r c u n s t a n c i a s q ~ e p a ~ i i t l i l ' a 1 i z i i r 8 e en Costar.-Ri.ea p ~ e B r i b e ' l a - 1eynumeiXl 21 d ~ 5 ' de ~ o v e : i n b r e de 18"52; __i q u ~ : - o o ~ tru'mira.- ha. rehllDcia:dQ SS derechos naeionales; le'o o n ~ e d e - l a c r t a : d e ; J i t u r ~ ~ z ~ en e r ' p a : i s ~ y s declra 'en llibre s(rd Ids detehoa' c i - ~ e la Oolstftucion y las' l ~ y ~ ~ ' ~ : r . a n " l ~ ; d o s t a r i n . $ e S ~ , . Comumqus PQt- c D . , - ~ t t l h r ' , i ~ p r e ~ a ~ ~ a los ~ ~ s . . . que siSn-' . c o i r s i g ~ : i j . t ' e ~ " - , l,10. c 0 J D . n b ~ c ~ ' , a T ' p ~ ~ a ~ su: e o ' n o ~ i n f i n t ( ) , y, femos..:....:.Dit.s' gnrd: y : . ; ~ . -lvo: , ,... "


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. :fjl l\iinistro ~ e l Intenor d i ~ t . ! l " f . ~ ] ~ S p r o ' \ ! d e n ~ l j e eofrespondn .-Dado.en el P ~ a . c i o Nacio.,

...... San Jos, i l o ~ ~ a t o r c e clias deI mes de .. A ~ i i l . b ~ o c i e n t o s ~ ~ n ~ i . i Q n t " a y o o b ~ , , - - : ~ u ~ n ~ ~ a _ e l .. , ; " , : . E l M ~ ~ ~ B ~ r o q" ~ ~ t ~ d o ' eit l' D e s p ~ c h 9 ' d. -. . ( ) ~ " ~ Q a g , u i n ~ ~ ~ r d o 9-?-lrq!t .

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' t O Q ~ S ' . I S U S " " ' < ! I ' m t f o J t : U Z ! .. : ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ 4 ~ ~ ~ J i ~ * t , ~ ~ f : ~ i ' o r i t t i r l a c l i B g . . e ~ ~ .. l \ T l c ~ ~ ~ . .

Nql'"

o

P . r e g - i d ~ n t e


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o-176.-

dosta.1tica y Nlcal iagua, firmad(t en. esta ciudad elqujnce e los corrietea por Plenipotencial'los aut9-}'izados al efecto.-.A.l SUpl1eI11d Poder Ejecutivo.Dado el1 ei Salon de Sesionesi en San Jos, a losdiflziseis dias dllis de Abril de' mil ohociehtoscincnenta y' o c h o ~ - ' Rfael ' G ~ Escalante, PresideI);te.-Juan ,.' Gonzalez,. S e c r e t a t i o . ~ M a n uel JoaquinGutierrez,'Seci'etario.-Por tanto: E J ' E ( n 1 T E S ~ ~ ~ P a 1 a cio N a C i b i ) j t 1 , S ~ n Jos, Abri} dleziseis de m l ' o ( ~ h o ~ 'Cientos cncunta y ooho.-Juan R a f ' ~ l e l M t . ~ E l Minstro de ]jjstdo eh el D e s p a ~ h o de Relicioheli: E ; x t ~ r i o r e s , N zal'io T o l e d o ~ ' " ,

t ' . : . . . t


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&1rapiqn.i, y en toda su estension hasta -conflutt#i'a o.n ell'io de SaI!- Juan, una. faja de tierra b a l ~ f a g . de 5"Oh v a ~ ~ t \ s : de anoho, detIlcaJa: sclllE!lva.mente ;;: . ' .~ ~ ~ c i & l ' los' costa:i.'lc:"D'ss po b : r s ~ ' y ros h a b i t a n ~ S ~ lapo'ri'O'sis' o u ~ l q u i ~ r a , : nicion' que quiran p o ~ l a r . ; y ~ i t ~ t i : ~ ~ ! l ~ ~ o i : i slljelorr a' las' rglas' e s t a b h ~ i : d 8 . w . n' este decJ:etoi , . '" . :' . ' ., A ~ ~ ; ' c Q n c ~ d gracia 'a:di, n ~ p ~ i \ ~ q t ; : ,-qtl

~ ~ a * 9 , , ~ ' t i f i + ~ ' de ~ l i C d P . i a n z ~ r r a ~ . ~ ~ .. ~ o ; 9 ~ Q " t ~ f ~ l ~ ~ , ~ ~ d 1 i , tO'pIando' t r e l ; l : t . f 8 b f ~ l r i ~ : < 1 : n 1 d i ' f t a 1 "'5()'de rorJd; &tiid6.1fdose: de' dejai/ e n ~ t t e : ..1 o ~ r $ ,p r ~ p j . e d a d ud.a f i l 1 ~ ' ,.de' vein"e ~ a l ~ ! t s '


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D

DEORE-TOXT ~ a t a d o


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o.omlGU seguridad y engran:liminto.: ' h a - b i e t i ~

......"' ... 'lcanje de nti.estro:s respectivos IJod::el eitrien. que de. ellos 'hiio el H q n o t i b l ~

,Pdt'o TIi6mulo NegI-ete, Ministro P l e n i p t ~ l i ~ -dl Gobieiilo ,de Repblica deI Salva


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, , fdp d!ll mar dd Nt>rle; COnfenzara en la extremidad.'de f " u n t ~ ,de: OaatiJlar en la desempoab:ura deIridde l l a ~ .yUan de ; N i ~ l ' a g t l a , y contlnuara Illl\rcandosecQ! ~ a : n i ' & l ' g e I i d e r ~ ' l t deI e:ipresado'lio; hast'! unP ~ I ) " i ; i > ~ a n ' t e d e ~ Q a s j ; f l l t > Viejo t r e . . ~ m i ' H a " S ipgl?;Jas;' .miliilas d'elide 111& futtifiacine;\' exterlol's Mdiblio'6 ~ i i i 1 o ; , h ~ a ~ f c a \ l o p u ! J . W ; aUfpartira 11'-~ G i 1 . l 4 ' a , cU10' cii'tl'o sePim diillmsrob'i{ii,'y dialiara;'d'li (rJ , ~ ' e s ~ m a s !ilgl/;S1\s iJ, toda snpibg1ilisi'on;'ter'::~ ~ # ' \ I l ! ~ ~ n , un.pJ,lhi ' t f t t ~ debera' l ~ I i ) ' dnirulfS'd 0 , ) i ) : i : & e : ~ deIHo'4g;tias; a m ~ d e l . Pastillo.a l ~ : s ~ ; ~ i i t i : n l l i ~ 4 ~ ! l ' . 4 ~ r e C i o i l ' a l ; ~ ~ ~ ~ ! > d , . que de.'s ~ a en cl , L a g : O ' a l f ~ i ~ a g u a ; ~ m ~ ~ o . l l ' n eUl'so'q U \ l 9 . i ~ sienipr,e 4 Q ~ minas de ~ a " m t i f g ~ ! l ' derecha'dl.J!io.de San JUitn,llOli S,ll . c i ' t ~ * l J ' i > ~ e S ':&asti.


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BapoA, y Salinas, caso que en alla p l l e d ~ i n ' : :apara' buscar mojolles n a t u r a l e s ~ ' : "1Art. 4? La Bal#.a de San cTuan .del Norte, aslc.o-'. la d Salinas. seran COlllunes a ambas Rept.'hll .y consigniente 10' seran :sus veiltajtts, y'la ;0...on, de, concurrir a su defetisal [! Tanihiell' est

..... ~ ~ _ . o , ,Oosta-Rica .pOl ' .la p a l ~ t e q U t f l e ( Y l i ~ f : l S p b ' \ . ;J:\l1 .las' m'fl!9genes deI rio de San Jna,- qe "ei'los.' ..... .,""." . : t l ~ r i ~ i n h s q ie POl' tiatcros 10 e ~ t . Niaragui,

'.3, la g t r a r d ~ " d ~ i l , "elpl'opio 111'0(10 quelas dos ltptlblic,as ' su clefensa 'en cOaso"",.",'"' .. ..,.... e x t e r ~ o r ; y:Jo h a ; t ~ b . . 6on. 'tQcla.-ta' e f l c ~ ~ i a .

. '0" .' \ '. ., . . '; ' 1'; . . .' . . ' . -'"" ouruVIese asu alcai1c. . ... . . ...," ' : ''. 0 'NIientras tanto qU N i c ~ r a g a no r ~ ~ ' ~ h ~ . ~ ~ . . ' ~ s i o n d'e todos su's d ~ r e c h o s ' en .el puerto

o


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-1&3-autes d llegar al Castillo "9\liejo, eon ol)jetos de CO" , ~ ~ lnel'cio)' ya sea con Nicaragua al intori'ol' CostaRica, pOl' los rios de San Carlos 6 Sarapjqu, cual .{.quiera otl'a via procedente de la paite que en la rLl)era del San ] utin se esta blece corresponde!' esta "i;,R


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-18( ' ) -JW Por llingnu Inothro,"U'ell'CaSO y estado de.eu que pOl' desgracia llegas011 d'encontrarseblicas de ,:Nicaragua y Costa-Ria, l ~ s serado ejel'er nlllgun acto 'd.e hospitalidad entre,en el puerto deSan Juan (lei Norte, ni en lte D:O.plhl'e y Jago 'de l;rical'aglla. ' .'.. O. Siriclo 10 estipulado eil el artculo 'ante:. cialmenbe importante"li la'deblda guarda deI

del rio, contra agresiones' exteriores ql,lB aD10,13 'intereses generales deI ;p:ais, queda su. cUluplimiento, bajo la espedal garantia-, q u',del G6bierno 'illecliador est dispuesto:efecto da su lVIinistl'o Pienipotenciarlo p r e ~ ,virtlld de las' facultades que al intento de-, confei'idas pOl' su .Gobi el'no.


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o- 1 8 7 -

Oanas.-(b""".) Pt'dro R6mulo Negrete.--Por tanto,habiendo visto y ' e x a D ~ i n a c 1 o el preinsel'to Tratado,previa la aprobacion d e l - ~ 2 ( I n o . COllgreso Nacional,y en- vil'tuJ de la facul tad que me concede la Oonsti ucion, 10- he aceptabo, ratincailo y confirlnado, ypOl' laB presentes 10 acepto, ratifico y confirmo, pro-' 'rnetiendo 0 hsel'var y hacel' ol)sel'var n.elmente todo' ']0 que: enlse contiene, 'sin perluitir que se con.travenga l'de luaIiera alguna.-En f de 10 cual h,'11ecb() expedir las prepeutes, firmadas de mi nHtll'O,.Relladas con el gran sello de la Repblica, y refren:!dadas pOl' ell\finistro le E'stado en el Despacho ,de"Relaciones l ~ x t e l ' i o r e s en la ~ i u c l H . c 1 de San Jos a osdieziseis dias deI 111es de ....t\bril de mil oohocientoscil1cuenta y ocho.-(L. S.) - J uan Rafaell\!Ior.-EI


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,..,5. l ' j " . 't; ,

, : ' f,:, , , . ; ' " ,. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ p J i ~ ~ ~ l ~ ~ ~ ; p ~ l l a . ~ ~ : P ~ ~ V ~ l ! ' ~ , e ~ , c i . ! 1 ; d , ~ q ~ e . . : h a ... :, bla el r t i e U l ~ ~ $ ~ ~ , pa.;r:;te, 3l!-,del O ~ ~ ~ , ~ ; , ~ ~ ~ e p ~ l a los f u n c i i j ~ a n o s " p u ~ l ~ ~ o s ' que' a c l i n . l ~ ~ ~ t r a D : . .,.." ":," " ' , ' ; /,;', 1 justiia:: :-' : " ' ,

o

N ~ ~ ' . , .'v",.!. ; . . ' ...,. " ; ~ 'l."~ . ' , .....


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ARGUMENTON 'THE QUESTION OF THE V ALIDITY OFTHE TREATY OF LIMITS BETWEENCOSTA RIOA AND NICARAGUA.

OTHER SUPPLEMENTARY POINTS CONNECT-ED \VITH IT,SUBMlTTED TO THE

Arbitration of the President of the United States of Amerioa,


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DOOUMENTS.No.!.

Treaty of Limits between (}osia Ric(t and Jjtlca?'aga, C011;-eluded April 15tli, 1858.

We, Maxmo Jerez, Minister Plenipotential'y of the Governmellt of the Repl.lblio of Nicaraguat and Jos Mtuia. Canas, Miuister Plenipotenbial'y Dt the Government DI theRepublic of Costa Rica, having been entrustecl by onr re-spective Govel"nments w ~ t h the mission of ac1justing a treatyoi limits between the two Repnblica, w ~ i c h sho1l1c1 put anend to an the (lifferellCes which have obstructed the perfectunderstanding andharm0Io/ t4at must pravait among tlieUl fortheix safety and prosperity, and having exehangec1 our respec-

D


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186iug pa.rties eonsidered tq be legal and a ma,ttel.' of honol'>aftel' ha;villg given each' other relJeated proors of goodderstaucling, peaceI111 principles, alld true fl'ateruity,(\,re wilHng to billcl themselves, as they fOl'mally do, taliha,t the peace happily l'e-established should be each':'m01"e l,1ncl l110re affil'med beh:weell t.he Government andpeople of bath nations" uot 0111y for the gooet a.nel a c 1 v a n t a g ~ , or Nioala.glUt and Costa Itica, bub for the happiness ' .rn:osperity whcht to a certain extent, our sistel's, the 0 __ , .... ,,.,,Oentra,l Arnerican Repuhlics, will d ~ } l ' v e rom It

..!,n'l'IOLE II.1( j ~ h e dividing Hne bel;ween the two Repnblics, stal'ting h ...' m : " ' . ~ f l l

the Northenl Bea, shall begil1 afj the nd of Punta de .........."".; . _,"'tilla, at the m.ollth of tIle San Juan iCle Nieal'agua river,sha11 l ' tUl a.Iollg the l'ight bank o the said river up to aI;ln'66 Ellglish miles distant rrOlll Castillo Viejo) said ....... 'u w ..u,,,


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187AR'rIOLE TIl.

surveys as may be requ'l'ecl to locate this bOlmc1ary,in whole orin part} shall he,made by Oommissionel's

ted by. the two GOV61'Uments; BIUel the two Govetnshan agree also .as to the time wheIl the 8aic1 surveybe macle. Said Oommssiollers shan bave the power".,..." ... OT . cleviate!:rom the ctll've al'o1.md tha',eastIe, l':tomparallel ta the hanlts o the rival' and the lake, 01 '

the astronomie straight Une between Sapo!1 0.11c1 BaH they J:inc1 that natul'allaud-mal'ks can be substitntetladvantage.

ARTIOLE IV.Bay of Sau Juan deI Norte, as weIl. as the Salinas

' , i s111:h11 be commOll to bath Repllblios, and, thel'eore, bath'ac1vantages of their use an.cl the o:bligation to COl1t,l'ible


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188ARTIOLE VI.

The B.epllhlic of Nicaragna shall have exclusively the'mIllion and sovel'eign jUl'iscliction oyel' the waters' of the.Jua.n l'iver trom Hs Ol'igin in the Lake ta its mOt1.th lnAtlantic; bt ~ h e Republic or Oosta l ~ i c a shaH have thepetnall'ight of. n'ee na'Vigation 011 the said wate:cs,the said 1l1outh a.nd the point, three English milesl'om Castillo Viejo, sf1icl navigation being fol' the 1"\111' ...."'


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189into any other arrangement :for the afol'esaid p'lU'without mst hearing the opinion of the Hovel'nmentRica aS to the clisaclvanbages which the transaction

.. occasion ~ h e t'Wo countries; pro-vic1ed that the saidla reutlered within the p ~ l i o c 1 oi 80 clu.ys aftel' the01 the c o m m u n i c ~ h i o n asking for it, i f N i c ~ l ' a : g l l a have said that the decision wa,s lugent ; a;ncl, i f the,l ,LOCLU',UlV.u. does not injure the llil,tural r i g h ~ s of Coati\. Riea1v o ~ e asked for shall be oruy a d v i ~ o r y .

Alt'rIOLE IX.nder no cl'curnsta,nces" and even in case that the Rep1.1hof Oosta Rica and Nicaragua ahould lluhappily find thelll-

in a stafie of WiJ,l\ neithel' of them shall be allowec1 toli any act or llOstility against the other, whehhel' in theof S a ~ Juan deI Norte, or in the San Jal1l'i'ver, or ~ h e


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190tiea do herelJY waiva an daims for indemnilicatioll o c 1 a m a g ~ ~ j ,vhichthey might consic1er themselves entitled ta p r e s e l ~ l iJ,(Yalnst 8ach othet.


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191f ~ D 1 o n g these Republics,. and has in!;erestecl itself as.efficienhly:8.5 frieneUy in the equihable settlement o thelifferences wllcl1'unhappily have existed between the high contracting parties,:0. seUlement whieh bas been secl1red by the two Legations,owing in great part ta the estimable and e ' f c i e ~ t ~ t c t i o n of the.Hon. Senor Negrete; Minister Plenipotential'Y of the saic1: Q,ovel'nment, who praved to be the l.'ight persan to aacoru-~ : p l i s h the geneJ:ol.ls mecliation for which he was a . p p o i n t e c 1 ~ . a,n(l who has knowll perfectly weU how to 111eet the inten-; t,ious of his Governmellt, and owing also to the impOl'tantaid, to the leal'uing and to the impadi!11 suggestions of the

1 same JYIinistel' cluring the discussion of the subject, we, the .Representatives of Costa Rica ana, N i c a r a g u a ~ in the Dameof our ~ e s p e c t i v e cOllutries, e10 hereby fulfil the pleasant clutyof declaring and l'ecordiug here a1l the gl'aLitude whinhfeel fOl: the pahl'iotism, high m i u c 1 e d n e s s ~ rahel'uitYt i:'tuc1 be-nevolence characteriziug the G o v e r l 1 ~ e l l t ot Salvador, .


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Attachment 2Cleveland Award upon the validity of the

Treaty ofLimits of 1858 between Costa Rica and Nicaragua,Washington, 22 March 1888Source: Papers relating to the Foreign Relations of theUnited States transmitted to Congress, with the an nuai message of the President, Part l,December 1888. (Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1889)


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PA P ER SltKLU'llS'G TO n IE

FOREIGN RELArrIONSOl!'

THE UNITED STATES,TRANSMITTED TO CONGRESS,

)

WITH THE ANNUAL MESSAGE OF THE PRESIDENT,J)ECEMBElt 3, 1888,

l'lCEDllD llY .' .


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ooos'J:ARtCA.

CORRESPONDENCE WITH THE LEGATION OF COSTA. RiAT WASHING'rON.No. 312.

1J11'. Rives ta BenOT Don Pedro Pm'cz ZledOn.DEPARTMENT OF STATE, 'Washington, Janua?'y 16, 1888.. SIR: l have the honor to inform youi< that the President, having consented to aet as arbitrator of the questions between Oosta. Rica. andNicaraguat l>resented under the convention)f a.rbitration signed by thepleuipotentiaries ofthese republics at Guatemala City on the 24thdayof December, 1886, and having received within the periods named inthe said convention the respective arguments of the parties to the ar

b i t r ~ t i o n , which have been duly communica.ted to the opposing partiesas requlred by said convention, ancl further, the respective replies ofeaeh of the pa.r.ties to the arguments of the oilier, bas been pleased,Imder the power. confrred npon him by the last paragraph of the fifth


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456 FOREIGN RELA.TIONS.ba.ve een 1a1c1 before me in due time, sa tbat aU evclence :1nd argUll;lents IlOOCS!illJ:y to:1 decision of the point or pointa in dispute n.rCl now bofore nIe aH arbitr:ltol' thereof;And whereas, by the DMl pal'agraph of the llftll article of the sa,id couventioll nfn.rbitration of December 24, ISSU, it ,is providod that "the arbitrator may dolog;at(lhis powers, provided that he does no t fail t.o interveue diroctly in the pl'OllUllciatonof the final decision" : .Now, therefore, l, Grovel' Cleveland, President of th e Uuite,l States of A.merioa., inthe capltcity of arbitrai:or as aforesai


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'.

COSTA. RICA.ma1a on tlle 24th {lay of December, one thousan


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458 FOREIGN RELATIONS.towards the ocean is a straight line drawll from the ex.1remity of Punta.A.rranca Barbn" nearly true south to th e westernrnost portion. of theaand about Punta Saoate. .. . 4. The R ~ p u b l i c of Oosta Rica is not bonnd to conent with the Republic'Of Nicaragua in the expenses necessary to prevent the bayof San JuandeI Norte frOID being obstructed; to keep the navigation of the river.or port free and unembarrassed, or to improve i t for the cornmon ben-e:fi.t. .. 5. Repnblic of Costa. Rica i8 no t bOUlld to cOlltribute any proportion of the expenses tbat may be incl1rrecl by tlle Republic of Nicll... a for any of the purposes above mentioued.Tbe Repnblic of Costa Rica Gan Dot prevellt the lleJ..lllblic of Niofrom execnting at her own expense and witltin her own tcrriworks of improvement, provide snch works of imprevementresult in the occupation or floocling or damage of Costa Rica+C.." .. i t / ~ " ' T , or in the destruction or serions impairment of t ~ e navigation

the said .river or any of Hs branches at ally point where Costa Ricaentitled to navigate the same. The Repnblic of Costa Rica has thet to demand indemnification for any places belong'ing to her.on thebank of th e r i v ~ r San Juan which may be occl1.pied without herand for ally lands on the same bank 'Yhich 'may be ftooded or .:lIm:ltge:a in any other way in consequence of works of improvement.branch of the river San Juan knOWll s th e Oolorado River'not be considered as the boundary between the Republics of Oostaa.ud Nicaragua in any part of it s cmrse. -The right of the Uepublic of Oosta Rica to th e llaYigation of the


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1ii i

J oceanic canals; though .in cases where tbe construction of the canalwill involve an injury to the natural fights of Oosta Rica, her opjnionor advice, as mentioned in Article VIII of the treaty, should be mOrethan "advisory" or "consultative." lb would seern in such cases thather consent is necessary, and that she may thereupon demand compensation for the concessions 8he is asked to make; but she is not entitledas a right to share in the profits tbat the Republic of Nicaragua mayreserve for herself as a compensation for such favors and privileges assbe, in ber turn, may concede.In testimony whereof, l have hereunto set my band and have causedthe seal!)f the United States to be hereunto affixed .. Done in triplicate at the city of Washington, on the twenty-seconddayof' March, in the year one thousand eigbt hundred and eighty.eight, and of the Independence of the United States the Olle hnndredand twelftb.

the President: .T. F. BAYARD,8earetary of State.

GROVER CLEVELAND.


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Attachment 3First Alexander Award

30 September 1897Source: H. LaFontaine, Pasicrisie Internationale 1794-1900:Histoire Documentaire des Arbitrages Internationaux(1902, repr. 1997, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague), 529-533


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528' -Arn.A1JpIZIONALE. La'presente d i h i a r z i 6 n e ~ . , pel'. quella parte' che' concerne l'ampliamentodei poter i deU' Arbitro, "imbordinata al graziosoconsenso di Sua. Eccellenza l' Inviato Straordinario e ' Ministro Plenipotenziirio di Sua Maest

l ' Imperatore di tiermania presso deI Govetnodella Repubblica degli Stati. Uniti . deI Brasile.Ftto 'e firmato in doppio originale' esteSo inlingue portoghese' e italiana, nella citt di Rio

.de Janeiro, i l giorno diciannove deI mese 'diNovembre mille.ottocento noventa sei 1.Les commissions arbitrales terminrentleurs .travaux vers ia fin' de 1897: celle dePorto' Alegre statua sur 376 a f f a i r ~ s , -dont" 57furent cartes, 3 furent' renvoyes au sur.arbitre, et 316 'Qonnrent lieu l'attributiond'Une s q m m ~ totale de Rs. 750: A04 $ 620;

celle de Floriano'polis statua sur 63 affaires,dont' 26 furent cartes, 2 furent renvoyesau' Surarbitre et 35 donnrent lieu l'attri-. . 'betion" d'Une somme. totale de Rs. 4: 780' $.Les 5 affaires renvoyes donnrent 'lieu des'airangemnts. transactionnels en date du18 juin 1898, pour un import tota:! de Rs. 59:882 $ 500.

. . . .tenidas. en'pI'eseni dei" snor :Miillstro de Reladones Exteriores, Dodor don Jacinto Castellanos, autorizado especialmente. para representar al Gobierno de El Salvador, encontnlndose 'en buenaet debida forma sus plenos' poderes, y con assistenda deI Excelentisimo senor. Presidente de laRepubUca, general don Rafal A. Gutirrez, quien, ha. tenido la deferencia de concurrir; parria entre las Republicas de Costa Rica. yNicaragua, segun 10 stablece 'el Tratado' de 15de abtilde r858 y el Laudo arbitral del'senorPresidente de los Estados Unidos de NorteAmrica, Mr. Gr6ver Clveland.ART. II: - Las Comisiones que. por el a,rtfculo anterior se 'crean, seran integradas por unIngeniero, cuyo' rtombramiento sera solicitadopor ambas Partes deI senor Presidente de ' losEstados Uni dos de Amrica, y cuya!> funcionesse concentran a 10 sigui(';!nte: cuando \,!n 'l a practica de las operaciones estuvieren en 'desacuerdolas Comisiones -de Costa Rica y Nicaragua, sesometni . el punto' 6 puntos d i s c u t i < ; l . o ~ al jufcio


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-529

-minado dentro de' los veinte meses siguientes a,la fcha de inauguraci6n de los trabajos. LasComisiones,de la,s Partes Contratantes se reunininen San Juan ,deI Norte, dentro de, los trminosfijados al efecto," 'iniciaran" sus trabajos en ,el'extremo de la HQea divisoria que, segun el Tra-tado y Laudo aptes referidos" parte de la costaatlantica.' ,ART. V. -.:.. Las Partes Contratantes convienenen que si, por cualquier motivo, el dIa de iniciar los trab,ajos, faltare en el luga'r designadoalguna de las ComisioIle5 de las ~ e p u ) j l i c a s deCosta Rica 0 Nicaragua, se dara principio a lostrabajos por la Cotnision de la otra Republicaqqe' se halle presente, con ,la concurrencia' deIsenor Ingeniera deI Gobiern'o norteamericano; 'ysera valido y' definitivo' 10,que en tal forq1a se'haga, y sih lugar a rec1amo por parte de laRepublica que' haya dejalo de enviar sus Comisionados. Del mismo modo se procedera si seausentaren aigu nos de los Comisionados, 0 todos,de cualquiera' ,de las. Republicas Contratantes,una vez iniciadas 'las obras 0 si rehuyeren l.ejecucion de ellas en la forma en que seiialan elLaudo y Trataqo aqf referidos 0 con arreg[o a, la dedsion deI Ingeniero deI senor Presidente de'los Estados Unidos.ART. VI. - La s Partes Contratantes convienenen que' el plazo fijado para la conclusion del,am,ojonamierito no es pererttorio, y por tanto sera

operaciones dei dia, la clise de mojones cbnstrufdos 0 adoptados, la distncia a que quedenunos de otros, el arrumbamiento de la linea queletermina el comun lindero, etc. Caso de quehubiere discusion ~ n t r e . l a s Comisiones de CostaRica y Nicaragua respecto de algun punto,' seconsgnara en 'el acta roopectiva la ' cuestion' 0cuestiones debatidas y la resoluci6n deI Ingenieronorteamericano. Las actas se llevaran por triplicado: la .comision de Costa ,Rica conservara'uno de los ejemplares, otro 10 de Nicaragua, yel tercero el Ingeniero norteamericano, paradepositarlo, una vez conIufdas las operaciones,,'en el Departarnento de Estado de Washington.ART. X. - Los gastos,que se ocasionen cori'motivo deI envio y permanencia dei senor Inge-,,'niero norteamericano, aSI como los sueldos quek correspondan durante todo el tiempo que dureen el ejercicio de sus funciones, seran pagados,por mitades, por las dos Republicas signatarias.

ART. XI. - Las Partes ContrJ,tantes se comprometen ci recabar la:s ratificciories - de estaConvencion de sus respectivos Congresos, dentrode seis meses, ,a contar de esta fecha, aunquepara eIla, deba ,hacerse ,convocatoria extraordinaria deaquellos Altos Cuerpos, y' el' canje,subsiguiente se verificani dentro dei mes siguientea la feha de la ultima' de las ratificaciones indicadas, 'en San Jos de Costa Rica 0 en Managua.


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- B30 -consideration to aIl arguments, ounter arguments, must see tha t this g e ~ e r a l i d ~ .of the treaty as'maps, and, documents submitted to me in the a whole harmonizes fully with. any description~ a t t e r of the proper. location of the initial point o.f the Hne given in. detail, and the proper namesof the. said boundary Hne upon the Caribbean of aU the localities "used, .or not used, in con-coast.' nection therewith, for the non u'se of sorne n a m ~ s Th e con.clusion. at which 1 have arrived and may be as significant as the use of others. Now,the award 1 aQ] about to make do not accord, from the ' general .consideration of the treaty aswith the views of either commission, So, in a whole, the scheme of compromise stands outdeference to the very ex(:ellent and 'earnest ar- clear and simple. . . .guments 50 ' faithftilly and loyally urged by each Costa Rica was to have as a .boundary linecommission for its respective side, 1 will indicate the right or southeast bank of the river, consihriedy my Hne of thought and- the considerations dered as an outlet for'commerc'e, . from a pointwhich have seemed to me to be paramount in 3 miles below Castillo to the sea.determining . the question; "and of these con si- Nicaragua was to have her prized sumoderations the principal and the controling Qne is ' imperio of aU the waters of this same outlt forthat we are to interpret and give .effect to the commerce, .also unbroken to the sea. .Treaty .of April 15, 1858, in the way . in which, It is to be noted tht, this division implied

. it was mutually 'understood at the time by its also, of course" the ownership by' Nicaragua of.makers. aU islands in the river and of, the. left or north-Each commission haspresented an elaborate west bank and headland.and weil argued contention that the ianguage of This division brings the boundal'y line (sup.that treaty is consistent with its daims for a posed it to be traced do\ynward along the rightlocation of the initial" point of the boundary Hne bank from the :point near Castillo) across bothat a place which would give to its country great the Colorado and the Taura branches.advantages. Tht;! points are ove:r six miles apart, I t can not follow either of them, for neitherand are jndicated on the map accompanying is an outlet for commerce, as neither has a harborthis award. . at its mouth.


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,headland on the right '01- ~ h e bay. I t ,remainsuntil to-day obscure andunoccupied,except bythe hut of a fisherman. ,But the identifictibn ofthe locality s ' still further put b-eyod aU question by'the incidental IDention, in another art:icleof, the treaty itself; of the name Punta de Castillo.In Article V Costa Rica agrees ~ e m p o r a r i l y to permit Nicar.agua t,o use Costa Rica'sside of 'the harbor without payment of port dues, andthe 'l1ame Punta de Castillo is plainly applied toit. Thus we have, concurring, t h ~ general ideaof compromise in the treaty 'as, a ,whole, the ',literai description of the line in detail, and the,verification of the name applied to the initialpoint by its incidental mention in anotner portionof the treaty, and, by ,the concurrent testimonyof, every map maker of every nation, both beforethe traty and sin ce, in: excluding this name

, from aH other por.tions; of the harbor. Jhis mightseem to be sufficient argument upon" the subje'ct,but it will 'present the whole situation in , a stillclearer light to give a brier explanatio'n of the,local geography and of one special peculiarity'of this Bay of San J u a ~ , "The great feature in the local 'geography bfthis bay, since ,our earliest accounts of it,,been the existence of an island in its outlet,

....,.the eastel"n' Cdsta' Rita:n ,shore 'as has, been ,des .cribed. 'BQt even if ' that be true, it ' w ~ u i d beunreasonable' to suppose that, sch temporaryconriection could operate to change p e r m ~ n e n t l y the geographical character and p


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e01'\standy,lnvesttgattog the afJal 'problem,' andaU havin'g a personal knowledge of the locality.In' view of aIl 'these circumstances, the jea-100isy with which ech party to the treaty definedwhat it gave up, and what it kept, the prominenceand importance of the locality, the concurrenceof aiL the original 'maps in the name" and itsuniversal notqriety, 1 fin d' it impossible to c o n ~ ceive that Nicaragua had conceded this extensive and important territory t> Costa Rica, andthat the latter's representative 'had faHed to have, the, name Punta Arns appear anywhere in thetreaty. And for reasons so similar, 'that it is un-, necessary' to repeat them, it is ,also impossibleto cortceive that Costa Rica 'should have acceptedthe Taura' as her bQundary and that Nicaragua's'representativ should have entirely failed to havethe nam Taura appear anywhere' in the treaty.Having' thendesignated g e n e r ~ l l y the mainland east of Harbor Head as the location of theinitial point of the boundary Hne, it now becomes'necess,ary to specify' it more minutely, in order thatthe said Une may be exactly, located and per-rlanently marked. Th e exact location of the initial point'is given in President Cleveland's awardas the extremity of Punta de Castillo, 'a t the

Hea:d Lagoon the boundary tine shaIl.trn t> the, l ~ f t , or southeastward, and shaH follow the water's'edge around the harbor until ~ t ' reac4es' theriver proper by th first chamie1 met. Up thischannel" and up the river proper, the Hne shi:tllcontinue to ascend as direted in the treaty 1.Segundo Laudo sobre limites entre la s Republicas deNicaraw.:'a y Costa Rica, firmado en Sa n Juan deINorte, Diciembre 20 de l897. '

En cumplimlento otra vez de mis, deberescoma Ingeniero ArbitrQ entre los dos HonorablesCurpos de Ustedes, he sido llamado para decidirla cues,ti6i1 sometida ml 'en el a ' c ~ a deI 7 'deIpresente mes, como' se manifesta en el siguiente, praffo deI libro de sesiones, a saber: Propuso"la Comisi6n Costricense que se proceda medirla, Hnea que continuo ,desde el punto inicial ysigue por la margen de Harbour Head, y despus por la deI cano mas pr6xim9 hasta encoritrar el rio propio de San Juan, siguiendo la de s ~ e hasta el punto que diste tres millas, abajodei Castillo Viejo; que ,se ..levante el pIano dedi cha Hnea y que se incorpore todo en las acta;sdfa por dfa en las sesiones. La de Nicaragua


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533La llnea divisoria de hoy deb ser' necesaria:"mente afectada .en 10 futoro mas 6 menas,. portodos' estos cambios graduales r e p e n t i n o s ~ Peroel efe'cto en cada casa puede. ser determinado.so)amente par las circunstancias deI mismo caso,coma I acontezca, segn los principlos de las'1eyes ititernacionales' que puedari ser aplicables.. La n;:tedida y 'demarcacin propuesta de laHnea 'divisoria no producera ningun efecto sobre

la aplicadqn de estos principios. . .El hecho' de 'que tilla haya sido medida ydemarcada no au mentara ni disqlinuira .cualquieraestabilidad legal que ella pudiera tener como sino hubrera sido medida ni demarcada.El solo efecto que se obtiene de la mediday demarcac:n' es que el caracter"y extension delos cambils futuros pueden ser mas. facil y de'finitivamente det&minados. .No se' pue negar que hay una cierta ventaja conti gente en e:sta futura capacidad de encontrar siempre la linea primitiva. Per9 bien

p u e d ~ existr una .diferenda de opinion .sobre.cuanto tiemP9 . y gastos aduales deben invertirs para obtener. esa. ventaja contiilgehte. Esta esla diferencia que ,existe ahora entre las dos Comisiones. .Costa Rica desea tener esa facilidad futura. Nicargua: considera que il beneficio contingente

'De otromodo la' ({nea. debe' medirse en eltodo, y con todo "la' exactitud' practicameriterealizable eomo esta descrita en el artlculo 2..' -Claramerite, pues,' la consecuencia d cualquiera desavenencia sobre la cuestin de mas ''n;tenes exactitud' en la medida,' ha' de' ser q u ~ prevalezca la opinion de la parte quedesea hacerla mas perfecta.. . Yo, por consiguiente' anuncio como mi Laudaen sta materia que la!:\ dos Comisiones procederan enseguida a la rriedida de 'la Hne"a .desdeel puiltoinicial hasta el punto' tres . millas abajodeI Castillo Viejo, coma se propuso par CostaRica 1. ' .Tercero LilUdo sobre limites entre. las R e p u b l i c ~ s ' de

Nicaragua y Costa Rica, firmado en San Juan deINorte, 22 de"1VIarzo de .1898 .AJ ~ a n i f e s t a r las razones que obraron' en mipara emitir mi Laudo N 2,! me refer brevemente .al hecho de que, segun los precept>s bienconocidos deI Derecho' Internacional, . -la exactalocalizaci6n de la linea divisoria, que ahora defineesta Comision sobre.la margeri derecha de r doSan Juan, puede. ser alterada en futuro porlos .cambios posibles en las margenes 0 en loscanales deI rio.suplica a:hora el Comisionado nicaragense


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Attachment 4(a) Second Alexander Award20 Decemher 1897

Source: H. LaFontaine, Pasicrisie Internationale 1794-1900:Histoire Documentaire des Arbitrages Internationaux(1902, repr. 1997, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague), 529-533(h) English Translation of Second Alexander Award


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REPORTS OF INTERNATIONALARBITRAL AWARDSRECUEIL DES SENTENCES

ARBITRALESSecond award under the Convention between Costa Rica and Nicaragua of 8April 1896 for the demarcation of the boundary between the two Republics

20 December 1897VOLUME XXVlIl pp. 223-225


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SECOND A WARD OF THE ENGINEER-UMPlRE, UNDER THECONVENTION BETWEEN COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA OF 8APRIL 1896 FOR THE DEMARCATION OF THE BOUNDARYBETWEEN THE TWO REPUBLICS, DECISION OF 20 DECEMBER1897"DEUXIME SENTENCE ARBITRALE RENDUE PARLE SURARBITREINGNIEUR, EN VERTU DE LA CONVENTION ENTRE LE COSTARICA ET LE NICARAGUA DU 8 AVRIL 1896 POUR LADMARCATION DE LA FRONTIRE ENTRE LES DEUXRPUBLIQUES, DCISION DU 20 DCEMBRE 1897**

Interpretation of treaty of delimitation - during demarcation process, accuracy of themeasurement of the border-Ii ne is not as important as the finding natural landmarks, providedthere is agreement between the two Parties - in case of disagreement, the view of the partyfavouring greater accuracy must prevail.International boundary - natural changes of the banks of a river serving as an internationalboundary - determination of future changes made easier thanks to measurement and demarcation.


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224 COSTA RICA/NICARAGUA

that we proceed to the measurement of the line that ran from the starting pointand continued along the shore of Harbor Head and thence along the shorearound the harbor until it reaches the San Juan river proper by the first channelmet and thence along the bank of the river to a point three miles belowCastillo Viejo and that a map should be made of such line and that all of thatshould be set down in the daily record. The Nicaraguan Commissionexpressed the view that the measurement and mapping work on that portion ofthe line was pointless and worthless because, according to the Award byGeneral E. P. Alexander, the left bank of the Harbor and of the river formedthe boundary and that therefore the dividing line was subject to change andnot permanent. Therefore, the map and any data obtained shaH nevercorrespond to the actual dividing line. To that end, the two Commissions havedecided to hear the decision that the arbitrator would render within a week totheir respective arguments submitted to him on that question."

The above-mentioned arguments of each party have been received andduly considered. 1t should be noted, for a c1earer understanding of the questionat hand, that the San Juan river runs through a flat and sandy delta in the lowerportion of its course and that it is obviously possible that its banks will notonly gradually expand or contract but that there will be wholesale changes inits channels. Such changes may occur fairly rapidly and suddenly and may notalways be the result of unusual factors such as earthquakes or major storms.


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AWARD OF 20 DECEMBER 1897 225

In order to decide which one of these views should hold sway, 1 have toabide by the spirit and letter of the 1858 Treaty and to determine whetherthere is anything in either point of view that is applicable to the question. 1find both things in article 3.Article 2 describes the entire dividing line from the Caribbean Sea to the

Pacific and article 3 continues thus: "measurements corresponding to thisdividing line shaH be taken in whole or in part by the Governmentcommissioners, who shaH agree on the time required for such measurementsto be made. The commissioners shaH be empowered to diverge slightly fromthe curve around El Castillo, from the line paraHel to the banks of the riverand lake, or from the straight astronomical line between Sapoa and Salinas,provided that they can agree upon this, in order to adopt naturallandmarks."The entire article is devoted to prescribing how the Commissioners

should perform their task. It allows them to dispense with a few detailsbecause it says that the whole or part of the line may be measured and impliesthat accuracy is not as important as frnding natural landmarks. But thecondition expressly stipulated in the latter case and clearly understood also inthe former is that the two Commissions must agree.Otherwise, the Hne in its entirety must be measured, foHowing aH thepractical steps described in article 2.


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Attachment 5Costa Rica-Nicaragua, Pact ofAmity, Washington, 21 February 1949

Source: United Nations, Treaty Series, Vol. 1465, pp. 221-223.


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No. 24843

NICARAGUAandCOSTA RICA

Pact of Amity (with annex). Signed at Washington on21 February 1949

Authentic text: Spanish.Registered by Nicaragua on 1 July 1987.

.'


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1987 United Nations - Treaty Series Nations Unies - Recueil des Traits 221

[TRANSLATION - TRADUCTION]PACT l OF AMITY BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENTS OF THE REPUBLICS OF COSTA RICA AND NICARAGUA

The Governments of the Republics of Costa Rica and Nicaragua, having taken themeasures necessary ta carry out, faithfullyand in full, each and every one of the provisionscontained in the Resolution of the Provisional Organ of Consultation ~ p p r o v e d onDecember 24, 1948, the text of which is annexed ta the present Pact of Amity, and isfully accepted by the signatory Govemments, reiterating their firm resolve ta continuetaking aIl measures necessary, without restriction, ta observe fully and faithfully eachand aIl of the provisions and recommendations contained in the said Resolution; desiringta put an end ta the situation that has arisen between the two States, and at the sametime solemnly ta reaffirm their desire to maintain the closest friendship and ta strengthenthe fraternal bonds which have historically characterized their relations; and wishingta avail themselves of the offer made ta them by the Council of the Organization ofAmerican States, acting as a Provisional Organ of Consultation, of its good offices inattaining this objective, have agreed ta enter into the present Pact ofAmity in the presenceof the Chairman and other Members of the Council. Ta this end, His Excellency thePresident of the Government of Costa Rica, Don Jos Figueres, and His Excellency thePresident of Nicaragua, Dr. Victor M. Roman y Reyes, have designated the followingPlenipotentiaries:For the Republic of Costa Rica: His Excellency Ambassador Mario A. Esquivel,Representative ofCosta Rica on the Council of the Organization ofAmerican States;


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Attachment 6Spanish original transcript of speech given by President Ortega on 13 November 2010

Speech given by President Ortega on 13 November 2010

a)

b) English translation by Costa Rica


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Comparecencia dei Presidente-Comandante Daniel defendiendo el Derecho Soberano deipueblo de Nicaragua sobre el Rio San Juan de Nicaragua13 de noviembre de 2010119:25:361Palabras de RosarioQueridos hermanos, queridas hermanas, queridas familias nicaragenses, estamos desde estaCasa de la Presidencia para transmitir la Comparencia deI Presidente de la Republica en relaciona la lucha por nuestra Soberania, por nuestros Derechos Soberanos sobre el Rio San Juan, Patrimonio Natural de Nicaragua y orgullo de todo nuestro pueblo, Orgullo Nacional.Acompafian al Presidente, Su Eminencia, el Cardenal de la Reconciliacion, la Paz y la Unidadpor el Bien ComUn, Miguel Obando y Bravo; el Jefe deI Ejrcito de Nicaragua y el EstadoMayor deI Ejrcito de Nicaragua; la Jefatura Nacional de la Policia y su Estado Mayor; laCancilleria, su Canciller, compai'iero Samuel Santos, el Vice Can-ciller, compafiero ValdrackJaentschke; la Minis-tra deI Ambiente, compafiera Juanita Argei'ial, el Director deI InstitutoNicaragense de Estudios Territoriales, compai'iero Alejandro Rodriguez; el Jefe de AsuntosJuridicos de la Cancilleria, Doctor Csar Vega. Compai'ieros Dirigentes de Orga-nizacionesAmbientalistas, Movimientos Sociales y Miembros Destacados de Juventud Sandinista 19 deJulio.Para iniciar esta Comparecencia por nuestros Derechos Soberanos, vamos a escuchar el mensajede Su Eminencia, el Pastor de los nicaragenses, de la Unidad por el Bien ComUn, MiguelObando y Bravo.

a)


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somos un pueblo amante de la Paz, seguiremos agotando todos los medios que estan a nuestroalcance para evitar, en cuanto sea posible, el derramamiento de sangre.Debemos orar, pidiendo luces al Divino Espiritu, para que ilumine nue stras mentes y le d anuestro vecinos tambin luz, para que podamos obtener una Paz que est basada en el Arnor, laJusticia, la Verdad y la Libertad:Dios Todopoderoso y Eterno, que con amor inefable nos has creado, derrama Tu Santo Espiritusobre nue stras autoridades, a fin de que tomando decisiones sabias y ponderadas, resguarden laintegridad de nuestra Patria y por intersecci6n de La Purisima Concepci6n, Patrona deNicaragua, alcancemos la Concordia y la Paz, por Jesucristo, Nuestro Senor, amn.Palabras de DanielBuenas noches, hermanos nicaragenses, familias nicaragenses, estamos en este fin de semanadeI mes de noviembre, acercndonos a las festividades de Las Purisimas, de las Navidades y deIAfio Nuevo. En medio deI trabajo diario de todas las familias nicaragenses, de lajuventudestudiosa, de los campesinos, de los diferentes sectores de la sociedad nicaragense, hoy nos

hemos convocado para abordar este tema que ha venido a alterar las relaciones entre dos puebloshermanos, Costa Rica y Nicaragua ... isomos dos pueblos hermanos!Es importante destacar la forma en que todos los nicaragenses en general, hemos cerrado filas;la visita de la Asamblea Nacional a la zona donde ejerce su Soberania el pueblo nicaragense, elEstado nicaragense; el Rio San Juan de Nicaragua, nombre oficial ahora deI Rio, luego de lasResoluciones tomadas por la Asamblea Nacional de Nicaragua.


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Panama hacia Nicaragua. Esto fue una acci6n ya de las autoridades costarricenses, y cuando seencontraron que no eran camiones que viniesen para el Ejrcito, sino que son de las operacionescomerciales normales que existen en nuestro pais, entonces, l6gicamente, los liberaron. Pero sonsefiales que nos preocupan y tenemos que denunciar el atentado de que ha sido victima la Misi6nde la Embajada de Nicaragua en Costa Rica. Gracias a Dios que el coctel no penetr6 al interior,si hubiese penetrado al interior de la Misi6n jse incendia! con todas las consecuencias que estotrae.De ahi la trascendencia deI mensaje de Su Eminen-cia .. tenemos que enfrentar estos problemascon firmeza, con respeto, con un espiritu construc-tivo, pero sin alentar a la confrontaci6n, sinalentar a la xenofobia, sin alertar al racismo, que son elementos que se estn moviendo en lahermana Republica de Costa Rica. Hay grupos, fuerzas interesadas en que esta situaci6n, enlugar de resolverse a travs deI dilogo incondicional, mas bien, se complique alin mas.Tengo aqui, en mis manos, un mapa de la zona famosa deI diferendo. Esta es una toma satelital,imagen de radar, dice, 1960; aqui tenemos esta otra imagen deI 24 de febrero deI 2010 .. este esel foco deI conflicto, fijense bien. De esto, han abundado en argumentaciones, enfundamentaciones, en la presentaci6n que le hicimos aqui a la Delegaci6n de la OEA; en lapresentaci6n que le hizo el Jefe deI Ejrcito, el General Avils, a la Asamblea Nacional en SanCarlos, Rio San Juan; en la exposici6n que hizo el Asesor Presidencial y cientifico nicaragense,Jaime Incer, en la Sesi6n de anoche, en la reuni6n que se realizaba alla en la OEA.Alli esta claro, aqui esta Punta Castilla donde esta el primer moj6n, 0 coma le llamamos, elprimer hito, que es el que sirve de punto de partida para lue go ir trazando 10 que es la fronteraentre Nicaragua y Costa Rica; aqui esta la laguna de Harbor Head, aqui se encuentra la lagunaque pertenece l6gicamente a Nicaragua. Aqui esta el famoso cafio que va a Harbor Head, 0 sea,aqui va el Rio San Juan y el Rio San Juan deberia, en un cauce normal, retomar esta ruta y llegar


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la limpieza deI rio, utilizando la drag a Soberania; la limpieza deI rio, limpieza de los cafios, parapoder lograr que el rio recupere su caudal. Eso pas a necesariamente, por dragar tambin la zonadonde Nicaragua alimenta en un 90% al Rio Colorado.y voy a pasar a otro mapa .. fijense bien, este es el Rio Colorado, que era un rio que, en sucaudal, no tenia el volumen que tiene actual-mente; y con el paso deI tiempo, obstrucciones quese dieron en este punto, entonces, se fue desviando el agua deI Rio San Juan hacia el RioColorado. De tal manera que el Rio Colorado, es alimentado en un 90% por aguas nicaragenses.'-'CuaIes son estas aguas nicaragenses? Las que vienen desde el norte deI pais a desaguar alLago de Managua, a desaguar al Gran Lago de Granada y lue go, eso va a desaguar por el RioSan Juan. En aquellos tiempos, cuando la Ruta deI Transito, el caudal era suficiente como paraque se pudiese contar tambin con una inmensa bahia, y que ahi, al desembocar el rio, se pudiesedar una navega-ci6n normal de todo tiempo.Pero en la medida que las aguas se fueron des-viando hacia el Rio Colorado, se fue afectando elcaudal deI Rio San Juan; se fue arralando el caudal deI Rio San Juan. Fijense, el Rio San Juanhasta el Rio Colorado, viene con una gran fuerza, pero ahi, ya en ese punto ... empieza a perderfuerza, empieza a perder caudal, wor qu? porque el grueso de las aguas de Nicaragua van aalimentar al Rio Colorado.Como les decia, esto significa que nosotros tenemos un Rio San Juan que, en tiempo de lluviases navegable, sin lograr recuperar su trazo hist6rico; en tiempo de verano, no es navegable y, haykil6metros de kil6metros que que dan en pura arena; lugares donde 10 que quedan son pequenoscharcos. Esto 10 saben los que han visitado el rio ique se puede caminar incluso por ellecho deIrio, porkil6metros! porque sen-cillamente, el agua 10 que esta haciendo es alimentando al RioColorado.


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y por este trafico, que es comercial, que es turistico, no se le aplican las normas que se aplicancuando se trata de ir a transitar un rio a un pais que tiene normas de transito, normas establecidascorrespondientes, de migraci6n; en este sentido, son nada mas pasos elementales, ya definidos,que ellos tienen que llenar, pero pueden transitar el rio iY 10 transitan! Y yo invito a los hermanoscostarricenses a que sigan transitandolo, nosotros no estamos cerrando el transito de Costa Ricahacia el rio.Incluso, como se esta celebrando, a partir deI dia de hoy alla en San Carlos, Rio San Juan, lafiesta acuatica en San Juan de Nicaragua, entonces, hemos dejado las puertas abiertas, para quelleguen, sin ninglin problema, los hermanos costarricenses, que ahi se juntan con los her-manosnicaragenses y disfrutan de los recursos de la Naturaleza.Vamos a ver ahora .. Gcual es Isla Calero? Porque aqui se ha levantado una campafia de queNicaragua ha ocupado militarmente Isla Calero. Esa es la campafia lanzada por las autoridadescostarri-censes. GCual es Isla Calero? Es este terri-torio ... aqui viene el Rio Colorado, fijense, yaqui viene el Rio San Juan; entonces, como este territorio se encuentra entre el Rio Colorado y elRio San Juan, ellos le llamaron Isla Calero. En este territorio que es Isla Calero, son cerca de 180ki16metros cuadrados, en ese territorio, les puedo asegurar, hermanos nicaragenses y hermanoscostarricenses ino hay un solo soldado nicaragense! Ni ha entrado un solo soldado ni policianicaragense a ese territorio, no ha entrado en un ninglin momento.Luego, esta la zona que llaman Isla Portillo, igual; y luego esta esta zona donde tenemos laLaguna y el cafio que se esta trabajando, y aqui, ya estamos en territorio nicaragense. Enterritorio costarricense, ni hemos ocupado Isla Calero, ieso no es cierto! Ni les hemos ocupado 10


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pueda ya establecer una salida a travs de la Isla Harbor .. Eso nos arnplia un espacio que va abeneficiar a Costa Rica y Nicaragua, porque ellos tienen derecho a salir por ahi tarnbin, encuanto a comercio y turismo.En tanto nosotros trabajamos y culminamos esas obras, que Costa Rica admita, acepte, queNicaragua reciba el mismo tratamiento para tran-sitar por el Rio Colorado .. json aguas quevienen de Nicaragua! Pero ademas, partiendo de un principio que esta establecido en el DerechoIntemacional y, es el principio deI paso, que eso esta en todas partes deI mundo. Hay rios enEuropa, que son de paso comUn, 10 utilizan todos los pafses europeos; hay rios en Africa, igual;rios en Amrica Latina, igual.Digarnos, que 10 que nosotros estarnos planteando, es simplemente buscar un punto de equilibrio,de justicia; asi como ellos se benefician deI Rio San Juan, que tarnbin nosotros podarnos optarcon las mismas condiciones que ellos tienen para navegar por el Rio San Juan; igual nosotros,por razones comerciales, razones turisticas, no se nos OCUITe plantear, como ellos estaban planteando, meter gente armada, jno, eso jarnas! sino turisticas, comerciales, pero con las mismasprerrogativas, con las mismas facilidades, con los mismos privilegios que tiene Costa Rica paranavegar por el Rio San Juan.Cuando Nicaragua ya haya culminado la labor de limpieza con las dragas, y recuperado el flujo yel paso deI Rio hacia la Laguna Harbor, y que tengarnos ya de manera permanente ese paso, unRio navegable en tiempos de verano y de inviemo; entonces, en ese momento, yo no diria quedeberiarnos de renunciar a ese derecho, sino que cree que habria que mantenerlo tambin, porqueellos se van a beneficiar de obras que le cuestan a Nicaragua, porque asi 10 dicen los Laudos ..tiene que hacerlo Nicaragua; esfuerzo que le cuesta a Nicaragua.


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Anoche, fuimos todos testigos de un fracaso de la OEA. No es el primero, esa es una Instituci6nque cada dia pierde la minima credibilidad, si es que queda alguna credibilidad en ella. Fuimostes-tigos de la forma en que se manipu16 la Sesi6n, hubo una manipulaci6n, una conspiraci6n,eso ya estaba a la vista. Manipulaci6n que lleg6 incluso, a tratar de sorprender con votacionesnipidas, donde no se tom6 en cuenta los porcien-tos que establece esa votaci6n calificada, 0 seburl6 esto. Porque el Consejo Permanente de la OEA tiene un total de 35 miembros, de estos 35miembros estuvieron presentes en los debates, en la discusi6n, y en la votaci6n misma, 28 paises,o sea, no estuvieron presentes 7 paises. Y de acuerdo con 10 que establece la OEA en susmecanismos, que fueron ahi leidos en varias ocasiones, porque coma que nadie estaba claro, ni lamisma Mesa Directiva.Decia: "El Consejo Permanente en el ejercicio de estas funciones, Articulo 89, adoptara susdecisiones por el voto afirmativo de los dos tercios de sus miembros, excluidas las partes; salvoaquellas decisiones, cuya aprobaci6n pOl' simple mayoria autoriza el reglamento." No se cumpli6con esto ultimo, y se impuso una votaci6n donde no fueron excluidas ni Costa Rica ni Nicaragua.GPor qu? porque ellos estn claros que si Costa Rica y Nicaragua no votaban, no alcanzaban los21 votos, se quedaban en 20 votos, el voto 21 10 da Costa Rica.Pero ademas, de acuerdo a 10 que establecen las normas y procedimientos, se necesita de los dostercios de los Miembros del Consejo Permanente para la aprobaci6n de una Resoluci6n .. esosignificaba que se necesitaban 22 votos para aprobar esta Resoluci6n, 22 votos para la aprobaci6n y no 21, coma mentirosamente 10 estable-cieron ahi .. imintieron, manipularon!Peor au.n, tambin incluyeron a Costa Rica y Nicaragua para poder contar con el voto 21, porque


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que esta entre Nicaragua y Colombia exclusivamente. i,Qu tiene que hacer ahi Costa Rica?i,Qu tiene que hacer Honduras? iAh, pero aparecen ahi, Honduras y Costa Rica!Esto no era mas que parte de un plan que veilla caminando y que 10 hacen explotar, 10 mas tristees que 10 hacen explotar, a partir de las denun-cias de unos narcotraficantes, ifijense! 0 sea, lasautoridades costarricenses, se hicieron eco de las denuncias de narcotraficantes que, huyendo delas autoridades nicaragenses, se fueron a refugiar a San Jos, y alla dijeron que el Ejrcito deNicaragua habia ocupado territorio costarricense .. iLos narcotraficantes dirigiendo la politicaexterior costarricense! i,Desde cundo? Esto nos tiene que preocupar .. i,Y esa deses-peraci6nporque retiremos el Ejrcito de la zona? Un Ejrcito que no esta en ninguna confrontaci6n masque con el narcotrafico ... i,quines serian los beneficiados con esa propuesta, con esa exigenciaque hace Costa Rica, de que el Ejrcito deje de operar en territorio nicaragense combatiendo elnarcotrafico? i,Quines son los beneficiados? Los narcotraficantes.y sabemos que los narcotraficantes tienen grandes tentaculos, tentaculos que entran en lasInstitu-ciones de Estado, tentaculos que mueven recursos multi-billonarios y que tienen en crisisactualmente, una crisis extrema, a hermanos paises latinoamericanos como Mxico. iMxicotomado por el narcotrafico! Mxico esta en una guerra donde el narcotrafico se ha tomado hastainstituciones militares mexicanas, destacamentos enteros de soldados deI Ejrcito mexicano, deFuerzas especiales deI Ejrcito mexicano, se han pasado a ser destacamento de los narcotraficantes. Armamento de guerra por todos lados, muertes, asesinatos, dalloS por todos lados enMxico.Mxico hoy es un pais ocupado por el narcotra-fico, y Mxico deberfa de preocuparse porque elnarcotrafico no se extienda hacia Nicaragua; porque ya se extendi6 sobre Guatemala, que es otro


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Alli, simplemente, 10 que se plante6 fue una batalla entre paises defensores deI narcotrafico yNicaragua, que esta combatiendo el narco-trafico, porque en este sitio, donde Costa Rica alegaque hemos invadido .. primero, es terri-torio nicaragense iY estamos luchando contra elnarcotrafico! Alli no ha habido ningll enfren-tamiento entre costarricenses y nicaragenses; noha habido una sola bala entre nicaragenses y costarricenses.Porque algunos hablaban, ponian ejemplo de otros paises latinoamericanos donde ha habidobalas .. isi ha habido balas hubiera muertos! Pero aqui no ha habido balas ni muertos, porquesencillamente, la presencia deI Ejrcito en esa zona nicara-gense, esta, ha estado y estara, paracombatir el narcotrafico. Parece que ya la influencia deI narcotrafico, realmente va avanzando,sigue avanzando.Pero bueno, nosotros queremos destacar la posi-ci6n deI ALBA en ese debate y a la hora de lafamosa votaci6n manipulada, distorsionada .. destacar al hermano pueblo venezolano; estabahablando, precisamente, en estos momentos por telfono con el Presidente Hugo Chavez, nosllam6. Y l se encuentra realmente, no sorpren-dido, porque l.quin se va a sorprender? Yasabemos 10 que es la OEA, pero si, indignado; nosotros estamos tambin indignados por 10 queaconteci6.Porque en la OEA se tenia que haber buscado el consenso, ese ha sido el principio. La votaci6n10 que lleva es a confrontaciones y a que se fracture y termine desapareciendo la tal OEA, que yatenia que haber desaparecido hace rato, es la verdad. Nosotros nos mantenemos ahi coma porinercia en la OEA, iya tenia que haber desapare-cido hace rato! Pero estan rompiendo con elprincipio deI consenso, que 10 defendi6 con mucha frrmeza el Representante de Venezuela. Y0diria que el Representante de Venezuela, con el Representante de Nicaragua, mantuvieron una


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porque se metieron a establecer elementos de condicionamiento, yeso mata un dilogo incondicionaI. Y nosotros, repito, por principios, no nos estamos retirando de ninglin sitio deI terri-torionicaragense en zonas fronterizas con el hermano pueblo de Costa Rica y con el hermano pueblode Honduras, 0 en zonas marit imas .. noso-tros no estamos retirando a nuestras fuerzas, ni alEjrcito, ni a la Policia en el combate contra el narcotnifico. Ahi no hay retirada que valga.y esa propuesta de la OEA anoche .. "aprobada" entre comillas, 10 que nos esta diciendo es quele dejemos el terreno libre al narcotrfico. Fijense bien .. ique le dejemos libre el terreno alnarcotrafico! Nosotros no aceptamos esto.Pero bueno, quiero conc1uir, porque el Presidente Hugo Chavez, querido compai'ieroComandante, me dijo que iba a estar pendiente de esta inter-venci6n. l es amante del deporte, yaqui somos amantes deI deporte y hay una gran expectativa hoy, querido hermano PresidenteComandante Hugo

icj: application of the republic of costarica, proccedings (corte internacional de justicia: caso...

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