Colombia, Nicaragua present cases in long maritime dispute

By MANUEL RUEDA and ASTRID SUAREZ
Associated Press

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP) — Colombia and Nicaragua have presented arguments before the International Court of Justice in a long running dispute over what the Nicaraguan government alleges are violations of its sovereignty in the western Caribbean. The case was initiated by Nicaragua in 2013, and reached its public sittings stage Monday as lawyers for both countries presented their arguments to a panel of 15 judges at the court in The Hague, Netherlands. The area has long been claimed by both countries, and Nicaragua gained fishing rights over a big portion in a 2012 ruling by the The Hague court. But Colombia’s navy has continued to patrol the waters, which are also used by drug traffickers to smuggle drugs into Central America.