Nicaragua’s economic adviser, Bayardo Arce, says that President Daniel Ortega never threatened to recover Costa Rica’s province of Guanacaste, but, rather spoke hypothetically about the continuing allegations of “expansionism” by San José.
“Daniel said in the context of: as if we did such a thing (claim Nicoya and Guanacaste), because they are people (Costa Rica) that does not stop inventing something”, Arce told reporters.
On Tuesday, during a ceremony to honour the anniversary of the Nicaraguan Navy, Ortega announced that his country would make claim to the province of Guanacaste before the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ), to “reclaim territory”. His comments were made after criticizing the lack of dialogue with Costa Rica over maritime boundaries.
Nicoya and Guanacaste, according to Managua, were Nicaraguan territories annexed to Costa Rica in 1824.
“What she (Chinchilla) is looking for is oxygen, living making up everything against Nicaragua and very delicate things, with80% of the people against her, accusing of corruption…”, said Arce.
Presidenta Laura Chinchilla has sent a protest letter to Nicaragua’s represenntative in San José, Harold Rivas.
“I do not know what the Foreign Ministry will do with this, while we have a very serious process with Colombia, they are like clowns to be distracting”, said the presidential adviser.
Costa Rica and Nicaragua maintain strained relations over the border dispute that began in 2010.
