Nicaragua intends to claim more of Colombia’s Caribbean territory, warned Colombia’s former Foreign Minister Julio Londoño Wednesday.
Speaking in Colombia’s capital of Bogota, the former foreign minister said that the Andean country must remain alert, as Nicaraguan claims to the maritime space still persist.
Nicaragua is seeking to expand its claim on the disputed sea area which was redrawn in November 2012 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), doubling Nicaragua’s exclusive economic zone in the Caribbean by some 38,600 square miles.
MORE: ICJ ruling on maritime border blow for Colombian fishermen
Colombia has strongly rejected the ruling, continuing to send warships patrolling Nicaragua’s newly acquired territory.
Londoño warned that the Central American country could return to The Hague to claim more Colombian sea near the Caribbean port of Cartagena.
The former minister said that the government of Colombia should be alert for Nicaragua’s claims, as after the ICJ ruling the Central American country announced it wanted its part of the continental shelf extended.
Londoño, who described Nicaragua as “not a great neighbor,” said that the economically strapped country was “persistent” in increasing its “maritime desires.”
Caribbean territories
Sources
- Excanciller Londoño alerto que Nicaragua pretende mas mar Colombiano (WRadio)
- Nicaragua podria iniciar litigo para reclamar mar Colombiano segun excanciller (El Pais)