ConflictBarometer_2015

THE AMERICAS
gion of the Northern Atlantic (RAAN). Alleged JP and Sandinista
supporters attacked members of the indigenous YATAMA
party, leaving one dead and five injured. The attacks followed
violent clashes between the indigenous Miskito group and
illegal settlers in RAAN [→ Nicaragua (indigenous groups)].
After confrontations between mine workers and police in
the Bonanza mine in the same region, hundreds of workers
started a protest in the El Limón mine, León department, on
September 25. Clashes with the police left one policeman
dead and further 23 officers as well as eight protesters injured
when mine workers hurled Molotov cocktails, rocks, and
sticks at the police. On October 12, the government canceled
a gold mining project in the El Limón mine due to environmental
concerns and the recent violent confrontations.
hzi
NICARAGUA COLOMBIA (SEA BORDER)
Intensity: 2 | Change: | Start: 1825
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Nicaragua vs. Colombia
territory, resources
The non-violent crisis between Nicaragua and Colombia over
the maritime border surrounding the archipelagos of San Andrés,
Providencia, and Santa Catalina continued. On March
25, the Chief of the Nicaraguan army General Julio César
Avilés Castillo confirmed the plan to acquire military devices
from Russia. He justified the decision as necessary to protect
the waters the ICJ had attributed to Nicaragua in a 2013
ruling. Two days later, Colombian Senator Jimmy Chomorro
called the statement of Avilés Castillo an ''unfriendly signal.''
Avilés Castillo reiterated the decision to purchase the
military devices on April 23, deeming it necessary to fight
drug trafficking. In September, Colombian Ambassador to the
Netherlands Carlos Gustavo Arrieta repeated earlier statements
that Colombia would not abide by the 2013 ICJ ruling
because the ICJ did not have had the competence to resolve
the border conflict. Instead, Colombia insisted on a bilateral
treaty. On October 23, Colombian Foreign Minister María
Ángela Holguín stated that there had been informal negotiations
between Nicaragua and Colombia about a solution
of the border conflict besides a hearing in The Hague. The
Nicaraguan President of the Commission of Foreign Affairs
in the National Assembly Jacinto Suárez denied this later,
adding that Nicaragua's position was non-negotiable. hzi
NICARAGUA COSTA RICA (RÍO SAN JUAN)
Intensity: 1 | Change: END | Start: 1858
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
Nicaragua vs. Costa Rica
territory
The territorial dispute between Nicaragua and Costa Rica
over the San Juan river and the river island Isla Calero /
Harbor Head ended after a final ICJ ruling, which both sides
accepted. The origins of the conflict date back to 1858, when
the two countries had signed the Cañas-Jerez Treaty granting
Nicaraguan sovereignty over the San Juan border river
and Costa Rica the right of free navigation for commercial
purposes. Throughout the years, both parties had accused
each other of stationing security personnel and violating the
border as well as causing environmental damage. Despite
previous ICJ rulings, tensions between the two countries persisted.
On December 16, the ICJ issued a final ruling granting
Costa Rica sovereignty over the disputed island Isla Calero
/ Harbor Head and concluding that Nicaragua had violated
Costa Rica's sovereignty. Although there was no evidence
for environmental damages by a Costa Rican road parallel
to the border river, the ruling found that Costa Rica did not
fulfill its obligation to carry out an environmental impact
study before constructing the road. Nicaragua was granted
the right to navigate and dredge in the San Juan River. Both
sides announced to normalize their relationship. hzi
PARAGUAY (EPP, AGRARIAN MOVEMENTS)
Intensity: 3 | Change: | Start: 1989
Conflict parties:
Conflict items:
EPP, ACA, agrarian movements vs.
government
system/ideology, resources
The violent crisis over land reform between several farmers'
organizations, the left-leaning People's Army of Paraguay
(EPP), their splinter cell Armed Peasant Association (ACA), indigenous
groups, and landless people, on the one hand, and
the government, on the other, continued. These groups continued
to express their demands for integral agrarian, social,
and political reform.
On January 7, the Joint Task Force (FTC), a military unit deployed
to counter EPP's activities, killed Albino Jara Larrea,
one of the founding leaders of the ACA, during a shootout
in the city of Tacuara, Concepción department. Four other
ACA members and a civilian were also killed. On January
28, EPP kidnapped a farmer couple of German descent near
Azotey, Concepción. They were subsequently killed during a
confrontation between EPP members and the FTC. Each side
accused the other of shooting and killing the hostages. On
February 18, members of the EPP attacked two police stations
in Concepción, causing only material damage. On March 24,
EPP killed three rural workers in a farm located in the district
of Tacuatí, San Pedro department. They destroyed one tractor
and two motorcycles. The group left pamphlets at the scene,
threatening to kill local landowners who cut down forests or
used genetically modified crops. On July 12, EPP members
killed two police officers in an ambush in Colonia Pacola,
San Pedro. Violence continued on July 17, when three police
officers were killed and their vehicle was torched in a similar
assault by members of the EPP near Santa Rosa del Aguaray
in San Pedro.
On August 3, members of the EPP killed an employee of
Lagunita estate in San Pedro. Five days later, two members of
a Mennonite colony were kidnapped by EPP in Tacuatí. One
was released to communicate a ransom of USD 500,000. On
August 9, a group called Justicieros de la Frontera threatened
relatives of EPP leaders, in one case attacking the house of
one senior leader in San Pedro del Ycuamandyju, San Pedro.
On August 30, the EPP sabotaged a power pylon in Colonia
Manitoba in Tacuatí, leaving approx. 750,000 people without
electricity. The group left behind a pamphlet condemning
weapon possession, the use of herbicides, and the entrance
into forest areas, as well as threatening to kill anyone pursuing
such activities. Subsequently, on September 1, the
FTC dismissed its spokesperson Army Major Alfredo Jonás
Ramírez due to his remarks denouncing alleged lack of support
and complicity of national authorities with the EPP.
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