Nicaragua Sends Two More Dredges to the Río San Juan

The Nicaraguan government will put two more dredges to work on the Río San Juan despite an open dispute with Costa Rica, according to Edén Pastora, the Sandinista ex-guerilla and overseer of the project.

Pastora, also known as Comandante Cero, declared over national Nicaraguan radio that the dredging of the Río San Juan has experienced “setbacks because of recent problems,” referring to Costa Rican claims that Nicaraguan troops have invaded territory that Costa Rica has claimed as its own.

Costa Rican authorities have demanded that the dredging product be halted because of its alleged negative effect on an area supposedly belonging to Costa Rica.

The Sandinista ex-guerrilla, who didn’t provide a date for resumption of the dredging, noted that the project will have a duration of two years and that when the work is finished, large ships will be able to navigate the Río San Juan.

The National Port Company (EPN) would provide one of the new dredgers and the other is currently being built in the town of El Viejo, he explained.