The governments of Costa Rica and Nicaragua agreed Thursday to coordinate efforts to pursue jointly organized crime units who are mobilized across the border.
The new system will allow law enforcement authorities of both countries the opportunity to become immediately involved if a suspect escapes across the border.
For example, if the Costa Rican police chase a drug boat in the Caribbean that passes to the Nicaraguan side, the Ministry of Security now have a protocol for notifying the authorities of the neighboring country. Thus, Nicaragua would deploy its security forces to catch the boat.
This was explained Thursday night by Deputy Foreign Minister Carlos Roverssi, who added that according to the agreed protocol, if Costa Rican police cross the border in the middle of a chase, this act shall not be construed as a violation of Nicaraguan sovereignty and vice versa.
The deal came from the second meeting that both countries attended after the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered them to coordinate the fight against organized crime at the border. The first meeting was held on April 12 in the border area of Peñas Blancas.
The Hague intervened after Costa Rica accused Nicaragua of occupying and destroying part of Calero Island, north of Limon. On March 8, the Court ordered both countries to clear the area while solving the case.
Mediators
The meeting on Thursday was sponsored by the Governments of Guatemala and Mexico, which have served as mediators in the Calero Island conflict.
Costa Rica was represented by Mauricio Boraschi, national anti-drug commissioner, and Walter Navarro, deputy minister of security. The Nicaraguan delegation was led by Police Director, Aminta Granera.
Guatemalan Deputy Foreign Minister, Carlos Morales, also attended, as well as Mexican Deputy Foreign Minister for Latin America, Ruben Beltran.
Uninhabited areas
According to Boraschi, he sought “a very clear mechanism, very transparent in coordination with the Nicaraguan authorities in order for both (…) to respond to and to prevent the penetration of drug trafficking in the Caribbean that is so permeable.”
Boraschi recognized that this remote and uninhabited border region of forests and wetlands is the “sea route where there is movement of cocaine from south to north” of the continent.
He explained that the areas to monitor are difficult to access. “I think that both countries need to enhance our presence so that the criminals do not enter and do not harm our people.”
Moving forward, Costa Rica has proposed a meeting on environmental issues.
