The conflict between Costa Rica and Nicaragua along their disputed border is more than just a continuation of a long standing argument over boundaries. It appears that Nicaraguan president Daniel Ortega has engineered the crisis to benefit his own political standing with an eye toward the elections next year.
Ortega should have no business running for re-election in the first place. The country’s constitution forbids consecutive presidential terms, but Supreme Court judges appointed by the Sandinista leader exempted him and select cronies from the law. When the opposition legislature met at a Holiday Inn in Managua to plan moves to counter Ortega’s putsch (the National Assembly building was already surrounded by Ortega’s thugs), a Sandinista mob attacked the hotel, tossing explosives, terrifying guests, and were prevented from visiting bodily harm on lawmakers only by the intervention of riot police. The police made no arrests nor did they try to stop the attack in front of the hotel.
With the lowest approval rating of any president in Central America, Ortega cast about for a pretext to alter his political fortunes and found it on the Costa Rican border. The convoluted boundary has been a source of tension between the two countries since 1858 when a treaty was signed making the entire San Juan River Nicaraguan territory, while granting Costa Rica navigation rights along the waterway. Then, early this fall, Nicaragua dredging activities on the river was piling up silt near the disputed island of Calero. This threatened clear navigation of the river, and Costa Rica responded by asking Nicaragua to remove the dredge.
Ortega’s response was deliberately provocative. He dispatched a small military force to occupy Calero, tearing down a Costa Rican flag and raising the Nicaraguan standard. Costa Rican Security Ministry José María Tijerino accused the Nicaraguans of invading his country, setting off a round of diplomatic sparring at the Organization of American States — which voted 22-2 in favor of Costa Rica who was demanding removal of the troops. Ortega ignored the OAS vote, accusing Costa Rica and its allies of being “drug traffickers” while threatening to withdraw from the hemispheric body.
Meanwhile, the Nicaraguan army commander laughably used the lame excuse that he was misled by an error in the Google maps he was using. After the international laughter subsided, Ortega tried another tack. In an address to the nation, he claimed that the troops were stationed along the Costa Rican border to fight the drug trade and accused Costa Rica of wanting to seize the San Juan River for itself.
Although Costa Rica has no standing army, they boast an extremely well trained, well armed police force. Costa Rican president Laura Chinchilla deployed a heavily armed defense unit to a base near the island and an uneasy standoff has been in place since. The conflict is now before the International Court in the Hague.
Back in Managua, Ortega’s political fortunes rose dramatically. As recently as late last summer, former deadly foes from the Sandinista government of the 1980s and the Contra rebels had joined forces to present a united opposition of sorts to Ortega’s authoritarian government. These oddfellows had differing reasons for opposing the president, but found common ground in their agreement that Ortega was attempting to subvert the constitution in order to set up a dictatorship. Coupled with Ortega’s broad based unpopularity, there seemed to be a chance that Ortega would be confronted with the choice of stealing the election next year or going down to ignominious defeat.
The conflict with Costa Rica has changed that calculus. Whipped into a nationalistic frenzy by the Ortega government, the middle class has united behind the government, joining the Sandinistas and the desperately poor in supporting the president. Business leaders, formerly critical of Ortega’s naked power grab, have joined with university students to back the government. Opposition newspapers have cooled their rhetoric and have been praising Ortega’s stand. And perhaps most surprising of all, the National Assembly, only recently attacked by Ortega thugs, passed a unanimous resolution pledging full support for Ortega and his dispatching of troops to the border.
The guiding principle of politics: stay in power!
I wonder who O'Bummer will start a war with? Canada?
Therealand is right: stay in power…at all costs…including the abolition of democracy.
This sums things up pretty well. When will someone stand up to this cockroach? Are the Nicas so stupid that thay don't ask where the billions in aid from Chavez have dissapeared? In his own pocket!
Tell me why Infant Mortality, Illiteracy and disease all spiked during the years of the so called no cock roaches the US backed right wing leaders, Tell me why this "cockroach" of a leader as you call him is moving up in the polls has massively reduced illiteracy, infant mortality and fought disease, eliminated most of the blackouts with Chavez and Lula's help and yet the 16 years of US backed leaders saw constant blackouts and up to 8 percent of children going brain damaged due to malnutrition yet like the 80s the FSLN is improving all that
Tell me why you support this Kim Jong-il-wannabee?
Ortega has become a leftist Somoza.
He always was.
I can remember the unqualified praise given Ortega in the news when he regained power in 2006. It was a fun precursor to Obama.
Personally, I see the rise of the international left was a contributing cause of the international economic collapse. The emerging market had been the primary engine of economic growth. The rise of Ortega, Chavez and others pulled the spark plugs out this engine and destroyed this engine of growth.
Unfortunately, the press and professoriat are unwilling to look beyond the forceful redistribution of wealth that they praise to realize that these clowns destroy the wealth of nations for personal power.
The 16 years of US backed Center Right leaders saw a spike in INFANT MORTALITY AND ILLITERACY,,YET ORTEGA HAS BEEN SUCCESSFUL REDUCING THOSE STATS. According to an M and R Associates poll up to 60 percent of Nicaraguans believe health and education have majorly improved under Ortega. Already Ortega is approach a solid 50 percent approval and his party has about 40 percent, so compare that with the conservative parties which each are around 5 percent, Former Ortega enemies Eden Pastora and Bishop Obando and even present opponent Sergio Ramirez who disagrees with some of Ortega's leadership style yet says for the poor Ortega is a million times better than one of those US backed Center right governments as they had from 90-2006.Travis
Massive funds from Hugo Chavez, in-DOCTOR-nators from Cuba for healthcare with a dose of brainwashing, the takeover of the very Democratic institutions used to gained power, the harrassment of any opposition, and American Communists and their dupes/dopes like Travis and most Democratic members of Congress, Ortega would be what he was during the reign of "U.S. backed Center right governments: A CAPITALIST MILLIONAIRE! I wonder if he still has his Mercedes SUV and palace over-looking the Lake! Did he even have a job? DON'T BE FOOLED BY TRAVIS'S RANT ON INFANTS AND EDUCATION! Most, if not all, schools are for Marxist indoctrination including with American teachers like Angela Santi, an anglo who speaks perfect Spanish!
Why is it "The poor"(TM) and students invariably pull for the One True AssHat in the campaign? Money! The more the left squawk about "capitalist greed" the more we know money is the one and only altar at which they worship. "The Poor"(TM) are and always have been nothing more to the left than a vote garden they can grow by sprinkling it with other people's money.
Note the sorry lack of attention to this constitutional crime from the U. S. left, who were falling all over themselves pretending GW Bush was doing exactly what Chavez and Ortega are doing. The U. N. are silent as well, though that's not a surprise.
The American people stopped Pelosi and Reid, and their takeover of Congress which would have also amended the Constitution to allow Obama to become President for Life too! You have to remember that in the 80's, there were many Communist Party USA front-groups, like Construction Brigades filled with university students, who went to Nicaragua "to help the people," but when Ortega lost the 1990 election, those groups left Nicaragua which proves they were not there "to help the people" but TO HELP AN IDEOLOGY WHICH WAS COMMUNISM/MARXISM! THOSE STUDENTS, AND COMMUNIST DUPES, OF THE 80'S ARE THE DEMOCRAT LEADERS OF TODAY!!!
PART TWO: Obama too was connected to CPUSA FRONT GROUPS that were directed by their main front, the U.S. Peace Council. The World Peace Council was run by the SOVIET KGB! Ion Pacepa, a frequent writer for FPM, has verified that he was the KGB/Andropov front man for the World Peace Council! Also, Arkady Shevchenko, the highest ranking defector ever from the Soviet Union, stated in response to my question to him, live, about the World Peace Council/U.S. Peace Council, that the "World Peace Council is run by the KGB!" So Obama, in his article for the Columbia Sundial 1983, (Google the article and see for yourself!) was DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO GROUPS THAT WERE KGB FUNDED!!! SO YOU SEE HOW HE, AND HIS CIRCLE OF COMMUNISTS, ARE SO FRIENDLY WITH KGB PUTIN AND DO NOTHING WHEN NORTH KOREA/CHINA CAUSE TROUBLE!!! "CHANGE" MEANT TO THE COMMUNISM THEY WERE TAUGHT ABOUT IN THE 80'S AND THANKS TO DANIEL ORTEGA AND HIS ILK!!!
Steve Reagan put an embargo on Nicaragua in the 80s before they ever sought the Soviets support and Reagan lied once again and claimed he put an embargo on them cause there was tons of evidence that the FSLN in Nicaragua was funding the FMLN in EL Salvador. The interesting thing aside from the fact that the Sandinistas mostly believed in a mixed economy, especially Ortega, and were not the officially recognized Communist Party but rather Socialists, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHO ACTUALLY ENDED UP SELLING GOBS OF ARMS TO THE SOCIALIST FMLN IN EL SALVADOR , YOU GOT IT, REAGAN'S FREEDOM FIGHTERS, THE CONTRAS DESPITE THE FACT THAT THEY IDEOLOGICALLY DISAGREED IT WAS REAGAN'S CONTRAS, SO THE WHOLE REASON THE EMBARGO WAS PUT ON NICARAGUA WHICH LED TO THEM SEEKING HELP FROM THE SOVIETS, WAS SELLING ARMS WHEN IT WAS THE VERY CONTRA TERRORISTS WHO ENDED ARMING THE FMLN, IS THAT CRAZY OR WHAT?
Let the Costa Ricans and Nicaraguans settle their own problems .We have enough on our plate right now , not to mention ….IT'S NONE OF OUR BUISINESS !! Thye border disputes pre-date Ortega . I guess we have a short memory of the mess we created the last time around in Nicaragua eh ? Cocaine dealing by the CIA , selling arms to Iran , all to get around OUR OWN LAW ending the funding for thugs no bettere than the Sandanista s themselves . If these people want Ortega , so be it , if they don't , let THEM take care of it .
Here's a notion for all you wannabee Birchers ….let the bloody Nicaraguans decide what THEY want , not what WE want . Put away those foolish "Russian plots " , and books by paranoid authors meant for sale to paranoid readers . Take a few aspirins Steve Chavez , your hysterical paranoia has got the best of you .Your theory , is all wet . not to mention UNINTELLIGENT NONSENSE .
Why do you attack him personally instead of what he posted. I do agree with you on the we have enough on our plate now with both North Korea and Iran, and with an inept clandestine Muslim Marxist empty suit racist in the oval office sorrounded by bumbling inexperienced second stringers.
I do so because he props up a STUPID book which is supposedly proof of a fractured mindless plot for non-thinkers , and dimwits . Cant make that any simpler USMCsniper .The book is rubbish and what it implies is just plain stupid . And your sdtatement approaches the same ….prove to me Obama is a racist ….prove to me he is a muslim /marxist ….other than the parroted remarks youi glean from our homegrown idiot idealogues . I'll bet you are one who believes he spent 200 million a day on that last trip eh ?
The FSLN allied with the Soviets cause Reagan put an embargo on them. Reagan claimed they were funding the FMLN but in reality it was Reagan's Contras who evidently weren't being paid well by the CIA and were selling arms to the FMLN. Ortega brothers always believed in a mixed economy and were moderate socialists.Travis
The only "Popular" support Ortega had was from Communist thugs/Turbas who harrassed unpopular support, Cuban DGI agents posing as Nicaraguans, and American Communist dupes like you! Without funding from another great Democratic and humanitarian supporter, Hugo Chavez, Ortega would still be Fidel's banana boy! Obama, a supporter of everything Communist, was also a Communist Party USA/Soviet KGB dupe in the 80's as was 99% of those still in Congress! Speaking of Contras, what's the difference between a Contra and a Rebel as in FMLN Rebel who was trying to overthrow the government of El Salvador and probably a group you supported! The Contras were the bad guys and the FMLN were the good guys? Hillary Clinton, and Hollywood/Ed Asner, gave thousand$$$ to the FMLN so it is no wonder that when the FMLN won the Presidency last year, with the help of Hugo Chavez and Ortega, Hillary was the highest ranking U.S. official at the inauguration while during the same time period her and Obama were siding with Chavez and Ortega on the Manuel Zelaya/Honduran issue! American Communists always side with their Internationist Comrades!
Here's a notion for you, Babs … the "bloody Nicaraguans" are not going to get to decide what they want. Like all Communist butchers, Ortega will probably get an enthusiastic 100% of the vote. If you still think "the people" love Ortega, why don't you look into the history of the Miskito Indians, whom Ortega once before tried to exterminate, in order to get their mineral-rich lands?
Well than that's too bad for the Nicaraguans , if they don't know what they want by now , and are not willing to fight for it …THE HELL WITH'EM .. we didn't do so good a job either by funding Contra death squads , whom our LAWS declared shouldn't be funded , then we broke more LAWS by trafficking COCAINE , and selling arms to the F___ng Iranians to circumvent the LAW .
The US needs to keep it's nose out of it this time around ….if you feel so strongly , then go buy yourself an airline ticket to Minagua .
if you are not actually a communist you surely are a dupe of theirs. you even use their talking points.
"….if you feel so strongly , then go buy yourself an airline ticket to Minagua . "
Been there, done that …
I doubt that .
My heart is breaking because of your doubts.
But the Miskitos still live, because of my efforts, and those of others, who taught them how to defend themselves … and made sure they had the equipment to do so … against the genocidal impulses of Sr. Ortega and company. We couldn't depend upon UN to protect them, could we?
The ony thing that you are left with, when confronted with someone who was willing to defend others against the depredations of your ideological friends, is doubt.
Whipping up nationalistic fervor to further autocratic ambitions is one of the 14 tenets of fascism.
LOL…you mean like some people in this country ? Better go study your history on Nicaragua , even better Chile , we called Allende a communist , assasinated him , kept Gen.Pinochet in poiwer [ a reeeal "democratic dictator/killer "] .
"Communist " is a term people like you use against those you disagree with .
"14 tenets of facism " ??? what , do you make this stuff up as you go ? Make up your mind dude ! Facism or Communism " ……
You're lost dude . Try learning rather than being an ideological parrot .
badaboo….It seems to me that it is you who needs a history lesson. Soviet, East German and Czech archives prove that the Sandinistas were being funded by the Warsaw pact. The relationship between the CPUSA and Soviet intelligence is well establish by real historians on both sides.
I hate to break it to you but Pinochet is revered by wide segments of the Chilean population. I guess only certain peoples have the right to determine which dictator they should like.
Revered ? Your head's up your butt pally . A dictator is a dictator , whether the US supports him or not . Uh …but that rationale eludes you .eh ? The TRUTH of the matter is that wide segments of the Chilean population HATED the US over the assination of Allende . And still do . I think you been living too long in "Fox-Nation " . BTW , no one was disputing who may or may have not funded the Sandanistas , what I'm saying is WE funded the Contras , and did so illegally , and as murderous thugs go , they were no better . As for Ortega today , there is no Soviet/Russian / warsaw pact support . If Ortega makes any political inroads he does so under his own steam , and any support will come from Nicaraguans themselves .. Time to BUTT-OUT of Central America , communism failed there , even Fidel knows it .
Babs, you mean, "Time to butt out of Central America", until the entire region is communist?
Of course, communism failed. Communism always fails. But that doesn't prevent the uneducated, uninformed, and unintelligent from trying to make it happen, anyway.