Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
from the Organization of American States reported significant irregularities, but not suffi-
cient to change the outcome.
Ortega's democratic credentials were further challenged in local elections in 2012, in
which the FSLN won 127 of the 153 municipalities. Monitoring organization, Ética
yTransparencia (Ethics and Transparency), identified irregularities in 70 municipalities it
surveyed.
Redrawing the Map
Simmering tensions over the Río San Juan, Nicaragua and Costa Rica's favorite patriotic
flash point, once again boiled over in late 2010 regarding Managua's dredging operations
in the river's delta.
Costa Rica lodged a demand against Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) in the Hague claiming that Nicaragua was hacking a new canal through a Costa Ric-
an island in order to annexe part of the territory. Nicaragua rebutted by claiming to simply
be cleaning an existing channel (with dredging boss and former Contra leader Eden
Pastora even pulling up Google Maps to prove a point) and launched a counterclaim sug-
gesting that Costa Rica's construction of a new highway along the river was damaging the
local environment.
While the two countries were still trading barbs, the ICJ handed down its final ruling in
another case involving Nicaragua, the disputed maritime border with Colombia in a poten-
tially mineral-rich area of the Caribbean Sea. In November 2012 the court awarded own-
ership of several small islands to Colombia, but 100,000 sq km of sea formerly within Co-
lombia's boundaries was handed over to Nicaragua.
President Ortega sent a small flotilla of lightly armed ships and fishing boats to the dis-
puted waters to exert sovereignty. However, shortly afterward, the Nicaraguan govern-
ment was forced to admit that Colombia, which rejects the ruling, was still patrolling the
zone.
Petroleum Economy
Since the FSLN's return to power, the government's economic and social programs have
been bankrolled through aid, loans and subsidized fuel from its partner in the Alianza
Bolivariano por Las Americas (ALBA), Venezuela.
