Nicaragua Network

1. Oil exploration begins
2. Colombia in political crisis over 2012 World Court case that favored Nicaragua
3. Ortega’s hypothetical reference to Guanacaste alarms Chinchilla
4. Canal update: challenges filed; surveys beginning; two conferences held
5. Russia helps celebrate 33^rd anniversary of Nicaragua’s naval force
6. National reforestation campaign inaugurated
7. Japan pledges help to improve road system
8. Plan Roof continues to improve homes of the poor
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1. Oil exploration begins

Emilio Rapacciolli, Minister of Energy and Mining, announced on August 19 that on the previous evening the US oil company Noble Energy had begun the perforation of its first exploratory well in Nicaragua’s Caribbean waters.  Rappaccioli said, “Based on the studies that have been done, including seismic studies, there is a good chance that the results will be positive and that they will find oil in sufficient volume for commercial exploitation.”  He added that the Paraiso Sur 1 well in the Tyra Bank is located 168 kilometers off the coast of Bluefields.  Noble Energy representative David Nock said that the company expects to complete the exploration in several stages over a period of three years.  The Houston-based company projects a 25% chance of success at the site. If the results are positive, Noble Energy will present an environmental impact study along with a plan for development and production to the government, Nock explained.  The Ocean Saratoga drilling platform is being leased by Noble Energy from Diamond Offshore Drilling, also headquartered in Houston.  The platform will function 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the next 90 days, according to Nock. Rappaccioli said that, at that time, the company will know if “structures exist for the accumulation of hydrocarbons.”  He said that, if oil is discovered, Nicaragua could earn from taxes around US$700 million per year. The company also has a concession for the Isabel Bank off the coast of Bilwi, Puerto Cabezas. The concession for exploration in the two banks, a total of 8,000 square kilometers, is for six years but if oil is found it could be extended for 30 years.

After condemning Nicaragua’s oil exploration, the government of Colombia admitted on Aug. 15 that the exploratory perforations were well within Nicaragua’s territorial waters, that is waters west of the 82nd meridian west longitude that Colombia had recognized even before the Nov. 2012 World Court decision that expanded Nicaragua’s waters.  Nicaragua is expected to approve further concessions in the new areas assigned to the country by the Court and President Daniel Ortega has reiterated that the concessions would not be in the Seaflower Biosphere Reserve, contrary to accusations by the Colombian government.  (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 15, 18, 19; La Prensa, Aug. 18; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 15, 17; Informe Pastran, Aug. 14, 15, 19)

2. Colombia in political crisis over 2012 World Court case that favored Nicaragua

“Internal war” and “nest of vipers” are only two of the descriptions of the conflicts within power circles in Colombia over the Nov. 2012 decision by the International Court of Justice (World Court) that, while it gave Colombia the islands of the San Andres Archipelago, gave Nicaragua most of the surrounding waters and opened to Nicaragua the possibility of expanding its territorial waters to the fullest extent of its continental shelf.  Details of a closed meeting last week of President Juan Manuel Santos, high level officials of his government, former presidents, and legal advisors were leaked to the media provoking anger and denials from Santos and Foreign Minister Maria Angela Holguin.  According to the leaked information, “The ruling is inapplicable because it contains too many legal holes with the Court ignoring Colombia’s historic rights over the archipelago as well as ignoring the validity of valid treaties with bordering countries that are affected by the decision, principally Panama, Costa Rica and Jamaica.”  The leak also said that, since Colombia did not ratify the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, it would not recognize a new claim by Nicaragua to extend its territorial waters over its continental shelf. In spite of this, according to the leaker, Colombia wants to negotiate with Nicaragua a “bilateral agreement” alongside the World Court ruling which Colombia does recognize is not subject to appeal.

However, President Santos announced on his Twitter feed that his government has “NOT taken any decision based on the recommendations of lawyers and other options that have been discussed about Nicaragua.”  Foreign Minister Holguin called the leaker “a traitor.”  However, this was not the first leak.  Because of earlier leaks by the Colombian Army and Police to former President Alvaro Uribe, Santos recently removed the highest level officers of both bodies.  Colombian sources said that if, after the decisions at the closed meeting had been made known, the Santos government were to carry out the policy as leaked, the government would be seen as ceding completely to pressures from former President Alvaro Uribe, a hard liner on the issue.  Uribe and Santos are seen as rivals in the next presidential election cycle.  Earlier in the week, Uribe was quoted as saying, “We have to reject the ruling with reasoning and park our ships on the 82 meridian in a bellicose attitude.”

However, some Colombian analysts were calling for calm and explaining what could be the results of repudiating the World Court ruling.  Mauricio Jaramillo, a professor at the Universidad del Rosario in Bogota, said that, while the world as large might not pay attention to this issue given other international crises, in the Latin American and Caribbean region “the consequences could be serious. The [region] has a strong legalistic tradition—we saw that at the time of the death of Raul Reyes [a Colombian guerrilla leader who was killed by the Colombian army within the borders of Ecuador] when no other country supported Colombia.  I believe that we would suffer a regional isolation like during the worst times of the Uribe period but with an aggravating factor—the rejection of the law.  It’s not in the interest of any Latin American to support such a position.”  (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 16; Informe Pastran, Aug. 16; La Prensa, Aug. 16)

3. Ortega’s hypothetical reference to Guanacaste alarms Chinchilla

In a speech on Aug. 13 marking the 33rd anniversary of the Nicaraguan naval force, President Daniel Ortega said, “We could consider, given the circumstances and the fact that this is a subject that has not been debated at the Court, taking the case of [of Guanacaste] to the International Court of Justice.  That would permit Nicaragua to recover an immense territory if the decision were to favor Nicaragua.”  [In 1825 Guanacaste, which since colonial times had been a part of Nicaragua, was annexed to Costa Rica.]  The reaction from Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla was immediate.  “We will not accept talking with Nicaragua about Guanacaste.  Costa Rica does not accept that its absolute rights over the province of Guanacaste be questioned,” Chinchilla said after an emergency meeting with her foreign minister and her ambassador to Managua.  A formal note of protest was sent to the Nicaraguan ambassador in Costa Rica, Harold Rivas. 

On Aug. 15, Nicaraguan government advisor Bayardo Arce said that President Ortega never threatened to try to recover Guanacaste from Costa Rica and explained that Ortega was speaking hypothetically in light of Costa Rican designs against Nicaraguan territory over the centuries.   “What she [Chinchilla] is looking for is oxygen,” Arce said in apparent reference to Chinchilla’s low standing in the polls.  “She is constantly inventing things against Nicaragua.”

On Aug. 19, Costa Rican Foreign Minister Enrique Castillo stated that his country opposed Nicaragua’s oil explorations efforts in the Caribbean alleging that they were an attempt to establish on the ground what had not been fixed by treaty or arbitration.  He said that Costa Rica’s offer to Nicaragua to ask a specialized organ of the United Nations to rule on the territorial waters of each country while the question was resolved at the World Court still stood.  At the same time residents of the exclusive neighborhood of Praderas de Las Colinas in Managua protested the opening of a Costa Rican consulate there saying that it would bring crowds and traffic to the tranquil area.  (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 13, 14, 15; La Prensa, Aug. 14; Informe Pastran, Aug. 14, 19; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 15)

4. Canal update: challenges filed; surveys beginning; two conferences held

Opposition figures, among them losing 2011 presidential candidate Fabio Gadea and his running mate Edmundo Jarquin, filed at the Nicaraguan Supreme Court over 30 different challenges to the National Assembly June 2013 law that gave a concession to the HKND company to perform feasibility studies and build a shipping canal across Nicaragua.  Gadea said that the concession had been awarded before the studies were made, noting “To use a Nicaraguan phrase, they are putting the cart before the oxen.”  Supreme Court general secretary Ruben Montenegro said that the Court would rule on all the challenges at the same time but gave no date.

Bill Wild, principal advisor to the canal company, returned with a multinational team on Aug. 17 from a helicopter and boat trip of several days reviewing the possible routes for the canal.  He told reporters, “At this moment the selection of the route is beginning.”  He said they had visited a number of villages in the South Atlantic Autonomous Region as well as various nature reserves.  He remarked that in the villages they were received with “open arms” and that he was most impressed with the Indio Maiz Nature Reserve, adding that a priority of the studies is the conservation of Nicaragua’s environment.

Two conferences were held on Aug. 13 in Managua to discuss the canal.  The Nicaraguan Academy of Sciences invited Nicaraguan environmental engineer Pedro Alvarez, who teaches at Rice University in the United States, jurist Alejandro Aguilar, and water ecologist Salvador Montenegro to speak about the environmental impact that the canal could have on Lake Cocibolca (Lake Nicaragua) and on the rest of Nicaragua.  That conference was held in the morning.  In the afternoon was the conference organized by the American-Nicaraguan Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM) where the principal speakers were Ronald MacLean-Albaroa, spokesman for the canal company HKND, and Alberto Vega of Environmental Resources Management (ERM) which is carrying out the environmental impact study for the canal.  Recurring themes at both conferences were the continued strength of the half millennium long Nicaraguan dream of a canal, the concern about the impact of a canal on the environment, and a concern about the lack of information for the public about the canal concession including how confiscation of property on the eventual canal route would be carried out.  (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 13, 17; La Prensa, Aug. 14; Informe Pastran, Aug. 16; Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 16)

5. Russia helps celebrate 33^rd anniversary of Nicaragua’s naval force

On August 15, President Daniel Ortega gave a brief speech for world peace aboard a Russian naval ship, one of two sent by Russia to celebrate the 33rd anniversary of the founding of the Nicaraguan naval force.  From the deck of the Russian ship docked at the Pacific Port of Corinto, Ortega said, “Welcome and we are honored to be here in Russian Federation territory, united by the ocean waters, and united also in the struggle for peace, so that peace will reign in the world, so that peace will reign in Syria, so that peace will reign in Egypt, so that peace will permit all the people of the world to build a better world.” The previous day, the National Assembly approved the Reciprocal Accord for the Promotion and Protection of Investments between Nicaragua and Russia. The vote was unanimous with 87 voting in favor and five voting present. Sandinista Deputy Walmaro Gutierrez, chair of the Economic Committee, said that the importance of the accord is that Russia is a market of 147.2 million people. In 2012, Nicaraguan exports to Russia totaled US$15.6 million and imports totaled US$76.8 million.

Meanwhile, 30 years after the Reagan administration falsely accused Nicaragua of buying MIG fighter planes from Russia, an anti-Nicaragua web blog in Costa Rica raised new accusations that Nicaragua is planning to buy between 6 and 12 MIG-29s from Russia. The Nicaraguan military categorically denied the accusation.  (La Prensa, Aug. 14, 16; El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 15; Informe Pastran, Aug. 19)

6. National reforestation campaign inaugurated

The National Forestry Institute (INAFOR) launched a national reforestation campaign on Aug. 19 in the community of Santa Rosa in the Terrabona municipality of the Department of Matagalpa. Students, army, police, local farmers, and national, departmental and municipal officials marched through town prior to an assembly in which INAFOR Executive Director William Schwartz presented a tool kit to small farmer Jose Maria Mendez who is a leader in the region for the environmental sustainability of his property.  Schwartz praised students who he said were raised “in the culture of the axe, machete, and saw” but now live a culture of “care for Mother Earth who gives her fruits for life.”  Schwartz said that 50 years ago Nicaragua had 80,000 square kilometers of forest whereas there are currently only 32,000 sq. km. of forest remaining and the deforestation has led to a loss of water sources.

Nicaragua still has the most forest cover in Central America despite the deforestation. Schwartz said that in six years the Sandinista government has reforested 95,000 hectares of land compared to only 32,000 hectares reforested during the 16 years of neoliberal governments. He said that in 2013 another 15,000 hectares will be reforested with the participation of farmers, the Sandinista Youth Movement, the Guardabarranco environmental group, and the general population, “because only united can we reforest Nicaragua.” (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 19)

7. Japan pledges help to improve road system

A joint Nicaraguan-Japanese study for the Ministry of Transportation has reported that only 14% of Nicaragua’s 22,000 kilometers of roads are paved and only 27 of 100 needed bridges have been built. The study was made in preparation for Japan’s aid in modernizing Nicaragua’s transportation system. The study’s purpose, according to Transportation Minister Pablo Fernando Martinez, is not only for new construction but for maintenance and renovation of existing roadways. The study will help prioritize the use of Japanese aid to benefit the productive sectors with, for example, the 140 kilometers of road needed for the Tumarin hydroelectric project. Those roads are projected to cost US$100 million.

Also included in the study was a recommendation for the construction of a new port on the Caribbean Coast which will lower shipping costs for exports. Currently Nicaraguan exporters must move their products to ports in Honduras and Costa Rica. The study also contains recommendations for Customs improvements at border crossings and the airport for greater efficiency.  Tomoyuki Oki, the resident Japanese aid representative, pointed out that the study supported the need for a large national plan to create an attractive environment for investment, create jobs, develop the capacity of local governments, strengthen the productive sector, and create an infrastructure resistant to natural disasters. He told how Japan had initiated a similar program in 1956. Nicaragua’s roads currently carry 175,000 vehicles, a number that is expected to grow to 335,000 in 20 years. Japan has promised US$30 million annually for infrastructure improvement which will be combined with loans and grants from international financial institutions to finance the national plan. (El Nuevo Diario, Aug. 15)

8. Plan Roof continues to improve homes of the poor

Twelve thousand families in Managua have already received galvanized roofing panels as part of the Sandinista government’s Plan Roof program which provides corrugated roofing to poor families. Deputy Mayor Enrique Armas made the announcement during a ceremony delivering 400 sets of roofing materials to families in 21 neighborhoods in District II of the capital. Armas said Managua families have received 120,000 sheets of “zinc” roofing since the program’s inception. Catholic Msg. Eddy Montenegro participated in the ceremony and called on residents to use the roofing panels to improve their homes. He commended the Sandinista government for fulfilling its promises to poor people “given the limitations of a small country.” Maria Cecilia Ortiz, resident of the Cuba neighborhood said, “This is a victory the people of Nicaragua have had with Commander Daniel. Now we do not get wet because we have a government of the poor.” She urged her neighbors to put up the roofing on their houses and not sell it because it was a “blessing from God.” (Radio La Primerisima, Aug. 13)