Caribbean Sea Space Dispute: Colombia and Nicaraga

A dispute between neighbors (see the map) about valuable sea space as set out here:

While the International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled on November 19 that Colombia does in fact own the regional islands of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, it gave the expanse of some 120 square kilometers of oil-rich ocean to Nicaragua. Colombia, which has long fought to keep the area, has rejected the decision and officially left the Bogotá Pact, a 1948 treaty which recognizes ICJ rulings to find peaceful solutions to these types of conflicts.

The country claims that by rebuffing the pact, it does not have to follow the decision. But Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega supports the court and says his navy is now “exercising sovereignty in all territory.”
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Nicaraguan fishermen report harassment:

Nicaraguan fishing boat captains on the Caribbean Sea say they are “fishing with fear” among Colombian warships that continue to ply Nicaragua’s recently recovered waters beyond the 82nd meridian. But they insist they are doing their patriotic duty to exert Nicaraguan sovereignty in the area.

“We are doing our part to support the government,” says Carlos Javier Goff, president of the Copescharley fishing company out of Puerto Cabezas. “We feel protected by the government and by the international community and, God willing, this won’t go to extremes…it won’t get beyond words and intimidation.”

Goff, whose fishing company has seven boats currently fishing near the 81st meridian, in waters still protected by Colombia despite the Nov. 19 world court ruling that establishes the waters as Nicaraguan territory, says his crews were harassed all last week by Colombian forces. He says his boat captains report the presence of two Colombian warships, which routinely deployed go-fasts to circle the Nicaraguan fishing boats. One of Colombian patrols allegedly attempted to board one of his Nicaraguan fishing vessels early last week, but the captain wouldn’t let the Colombian mariners aboard.

The harassment was also coming from the air, Goff says. “They were doing daily flyovers of our boats last week in helicopters and planes,” he told The Nicaragua Dispatch in a phone interview this morning.

The International Court of Justice materials relating to this dispute can be found here. Colombia has indicated disagreement with the ruling. Below is the press release the ICJ issued on 19 Nov 12:
ICJ Press Release Disp

A report on a meeting between the presidents of Nicaragua and Colombia "Nobody wants war":

Both presidents explained their respective country’s position on the matter and stressed the need for a solution through channels of diplomacy and dialogue.

“Of course nobody wants a bellicose confrontation. That is the last recourse,” Santos told reporters in Mexico following his sit-down with Ortega. “The way to resolve these types of situations is through dialogue—a sensible dialogue in which the positions are clearly stated and established, like we did in telling President Ortega what Colombia’s position is.”

Though the Colombian warships continue to ply Nicaraguan waters two weeks after the ICJ’s ruling, Santos said his country will look for mechanisms for international diplomacy to resolve the issue and “reestablish the rights that the ruling violated.”

Ortega, for his part, repeated that Nicaragua will continue to respect the ancestral fishing rights of the raizal, the Creole population of the Colombian islands of San Andres and Providencia.

“We are giving a message of peace and we are saying with total clarity that we are going to develop mechanisms for communication in all areas mentioned to guarantee the security of everyone, assuring the raizal people of their fishing rights, and also offering guarantees to the fishing industry based on San Andres,” Ortega said.

Something to keep an eye on.

UPDATE: Some thoughts on ramifications Colombia-Nicaragua ICJ Case Tests Region's Crisis Resolution Mechanisms


Circle on map is meant to show general are of dispute. Maps in the ICJ press release show actual areas involved.

Drug Wars: Another Drug Submarine Found in Columbia

Reported at The Telegraph (U.K.)Video: Drug submarine seized in Colombia:

According to the Colombian Navy, 63 submersibles have been discovered since 1993, the most recent of which was found in the remote jungle region of Cauca.

Colombia Grabs Big Drug Submarine

Looks like a real U-boat - Colombia nabs fully submersible drug submarine :

Colombian soldiers have for the first time seized a fully submersible drug-smuggling submarine capable of reaching the coast of Mexico, authorities announced Monday.
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Previous drug-carrying vessels found in Colombia were only semi-submersible, meaning part of the structure always remained above the surface.

But the sub discovered Sunday can operate completely underwater, Col. Manuel Hurtado, chief of staff of Colombia's Pacific Command, told The Associated Press. He estimated it could hold eight tons of drugs.
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The 99-foot-long (30-meter) fiberglass boat has room for a crew of six and is powered by two diesel engines and has an air-conditioned interior, Hurtado said. He said it can submerge up to nine feet (three meters) deep and is equipped with a 16 1/2-foot (five meter) periscope.

"The engines were already fully installed and ready to go," Hurtado said.

The sub had "the capacity to sail totally underwater and the ability to travel to the coast of Mexico without surfacing," he added. He said such a trip would take eight to nine days.

Looks like interesting stuff in that "periscope" bubble:

Is that an IR capable unit?

Latest ONI Worldwide Threats to Shipping (to 12 Feb 10)

From here (text).

Highlights:

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1. COLOMBIA: Passenger vessel hijacked 3 Feb 10 while underway in the Buenaventura waterways. The vessel was traveling from Buenaventura port to Puerto Merizalde when three gunmen brandished their weapons and ordered the passengers to jump overboard. A total of 29 people were forced into the water before the gunmen proceeded to steal the vessel and flee to an unknown location. The Colombian coastguard responded to the incident and rescued all
passengers and is currently leading the search for the vessel (Risk Intelligence/MaRisk).
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1. GULF OF ADEN: Bulk carrier (ARIELLA) fired upon 5 Feb 10 at 0600 UTC while underway in position 13:00N ñ 048:45E, approximately 93NM southwest of Al Mukalla, Yemen. Six armed men in a speedboat opened fire on the vessel while underway. The vessel raised the alarm, sent out a distress call and contacted coalition assistance while conducting evasive maneuvering. A Danish warship responded by deploying a helicopter to intercept the attack. The armed men aborted the attack once the warship arrived on scene (IMB, AP).
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2. GULF OF ADEN: Cargo ship (RIM) hijacked 3 Feb 10 at 0813 UTC while underway in position 13:04N ñ 047:04E, approximately 120NM east of Aden, Yemen. Pirates boarded and hijacked the vessel. There is no further information to provide at this time (ONI, AP).
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3. GULF OF ADEN: Vessel fired upon 1 Feb 10 at 1325 UTC while underway in position 12:44N ñ 047:27E, approximately 140NM east of Aden, Yemen. Two skiffs with four men in each opened fire on the vessel as it transited the Internationally Recommended Transit Corridor. The crew was alerted and appropriate counter-piracy measures were taken to prevent boarding (UKMTO, MSCHOA).
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4. GULF OF ADEN: Vessel reported suspicious approach 1 Feb 10 at 1150 UTC while underway in position 15:18.2N ñ 052:32E, approximately 200NM northeast of Al Mukalla, Yemen. The captain reported being chased by a vessel and seeing a mother ship in the vicinity. The captain conducted evasive maneuvering and no further information was reported (IMB).
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The trouble down South American way

The Wall Street Journal's The FARC Files is a very good piece on the mischief Hugo Chavez and his pals are up to - financed by oil and drug money:

Colombia's precision air strike 10 days ago, on a guerrilla camp across the border in Ecuador, killed rebel leader Raúl Reyes. That was big. But the capture of his computer may turn out to be a far more important development in Colombia's struggle to preserve its democracy.

Reyes was the No. 2 leader of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, which has been at war with the Colombian government for more than four decades. His violent demise is a fitting end to a life devoted to masterminding atrocities against civilians. But the computer records expose new details of the terrorist strategy to bring down the government of Colombian President Álvaro Uribe, including a far greater degree of collaboration between the FARC and four Latin heads of government than had been previously known. In addition to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, they are President Rafael Correa of Ecuador, Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega and Bolivian President Evo Morales.
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Sure enough, when the Colombian national police retrieved Reyes's body from Ecuador, it also brought back several computers from the camp. Documents on those laptops show that Mr. Chávez and Reyes were not only ideological comrades, but also business partners and political allies in the effort to wrest power from Mr. Uribe.

The tactical discussions found in the documents are hair-raising enough. They show that the FARC busies itself with securing arms and explosives, selling cocaine, and otherwise financing its terrorism operations through crime. In a memo last month, for example, a rebel leader discussed the FARC's efforts to secure 50 kilos of uranium, which it hoped to sell to generate income. In the same note, there is a reference to "a man who supplies me material for the explosive we are preparing, his name is Belisario and he lives in Bogotá . . ."

Though it is far from clear, Colombian national police speculated from this that a dirty bomb could be in the making. An April 2007 letter to the FARC secretariat lays out the terrorists' effort to acquire missiles from Lebanon. When Viktor Bout, allegedly one of the world's most notorious arms traffickers, was arrested in Thailand on Thursday, the Spanish-language press reported that he was located thanks to the Reyes computer files.

The maneuvers of thugs seeking power are no surprise. The more significant revelation is the relationship between the FARC and Mr. Chávez, Mr. Correa, Mr. Morales and Mr. Ortega. All four, it turns out, support FARC violence and treachery against Mr. Uribe.

According to the documents, Mr. Chávez's friendship with the FARC dates back at least as far as 1992, when he was in jail for an attempted coup d'etat in Venezuela and the FARC sent him $150,000. Now he is returning the favor, by financing the terrorist group with perhaps as much as $300 million. But money is the least important of the Chávez gifts. He is also using his presidential credentials on behalf of the FARC.

UPDATE: See Betsy Newmark's post on The "New Israel" of South America.