November 2012 map showing maritime borders in dispute between Colombia and Nicaragua. Colombia has vehemently rejected a recent UN ruling that expanded Nicaragua’s boundary, and Colombian warships are reportedly sailing defiantly through Nicaragua’s newly acquired maritime territory.
Nicaragua, the second poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, has just inked a deal with a Chinese company for a $30 billion canal. The proposed waterway will connect the Atlantic with the Pacific, and Nicaragua hopes to reap an economic windfall with its construction. However – many think this project will be far too big for Nicaragua can chew, and neighboring South American nation Colombia has began to fill the nearby water with warships in protest.
The United Nation’s International Court of Justice in the Hague in early December redrew the maritime map between Colombia and Nicaragua, doubling Nicaragua’s exclusive economic zone in the Caribbean Sea by 38,600 square miles.
Neighboring nation Colombia has vehemently rejected the ruling. Colombian warships now sail defiantly through Nicaragua’s newly acquired maritime territory. The planned waterway has already added more tension in South America.