War of words Maintains Strained Ties Between Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Tense relations between Costa Rica and Nicaragua over the  border dispute - Costa Rica's navigational rights of the San uan River that belongs to Nicaragua - have been strained further after a war of words begun by Nicaragua’s top diplomat, who aired old grievances about a province annexed nearly two centuries ago.

Escalation of the diplomatic conflict can be traced back to Tuesday, when Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Norman Caldera said his country could demand the return of Costa Rica’s northwest province of Guanacaste.

Caldera’s claim that Guanacaste belongs to Nicaragua and his demand that it be returned could be intended as a pressure tactic against Costa Rica, which in September took the to The Hague, the Netherlands-based International Court of Justice.

Nicaragua and Costa Rica are at odds over interpretation of the Cañas-Jerez Treaty, which grants Managua sovereignty over the San Juan River while giving navigation rights to San José.

The current quarrel dates from 2001, when the Nicaraguan government prevented Costa Rican police from conducting armed patrols on the river. Given the lengthy and cumbersome procedures involved in bringing a case before the International Court of Justice, even preliminary hearings in the Costa Rica-Nicaragua matter could be years away.

Caldera said that, after Costa Rica brought the issue before the U.N. court, the Nicaraguans could “counter-attack” and demand the return of Guanacaste.

Guanacaste province, which Costa Rica annexed in 1825, covers some 10,140 square kilometers. It became part of Costa Rica when its inhabitants – eager to escape constant warfare and instability in Nicaragua – voted for annexation.

Costa Rica’s official reaction to Caldera’s words was one of restraint. President Abel Pacheco declined to address the matter and the Foreign Ministry released just a brief communiqué saying it considered “such statements regrettable, because they do not correspond to the historical reality and the spirit of respectful relations.”

A lawmaker from the governing Partido Unidad Social Cristiana (PUSC) - governing party -  however, responded much more bluntly, noting that Caldera “has plenty of mouth but is lacking other things.”

For his part, Luis Ramírez, legislator from the opposition Partido Liberación Nacional (PLN), said the Nicaraguan foreign minister was “making empty threats” and that it was time to put a stop to statements that heighten tensions between the two countries.

Caldera shot back by saying that “those without arguments resort to insults and we’ll see each other at the place where they chose to take the dispute, which is the court in The Hague.”

Amid the political tensions, a 25-year-old Nicaraguan man, Leopoldo Natividad Canda Mairena, died Thursday after being attacked by a Rottweilers, while allegedly attempting to rob the auto workshop, as he apparently had trespassed on a private property guarded by the dogs.

Following the incident, the Nicaraguan government on Friday demanded that Costa Rica carry out an immediate and thorough investigation into the death of the Nicaraguan man.

For its part, the Costa Rican Foreign Ministry sent a missive to the Nicaraguan government expressing condolences for the loss of life and offering assurances that an investigation was being conducted to determine responsibility in the case.