The International Court of Justice has ruled on the border dispute that’s inflamed tensions between Nicaragua and Costa Rica. Both countries have been ordered to keep military, civilian and police personnel out of disputed area along the shared San Juan River. Costa Rica had accused Nicaragua of illegally sending troops and engineers into Costa Rican territory to dredge the river. While the court declined to order Nicaragua to halt all dredging, it did permit Costa Rica to send civilian staff to monitor damage to internationally protected wetlands in parts of the disputed region. At The Hague, Nicaraguan diplomat Carlos Arguello Gomez and Costa Rican Foreign Minister René Castro welcomed the ruling.

Carlos Arguello Gomez: “The main point for Nicaragua is to keep on dredging on the river. That was the most important thing, and the court has reaffirmed that Nicaragua can continue its dredging works.”

René Castro: “Today, an important step has been reached in the international justice, because the court forced Nicaragua to stop its abusive and aggressive behavior of invasion of Costa Rican territory, and it established that the only personnel that can enter the area are Costa Rican.”