Nicaragua pays Costa Rica for environmental damages

Nicaragua has paid Costa Rica $378,890 in damages related to the occupation of a disputed border territory, the Costa Rican government confirmed Tuesday.

The payment was ordered Feb. 2 by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague.

Costa Rica’s Foreign Ministry announced in a press release that the Nicaraguan Foreign Minister, Denis Moncada, informed his Costa Rican counterpart, Manuel González, that the funds had been transferred, and that the transfer has been verified.

“Actions such as this contribute so that both countries can gradually build a better relationship for the benefit of their citizens,” González said.

The original ruling that prompted the payment was handed down by the court in December 2015, when justicies resolved that that the frontier wetland of Isla Calera is Costa Rican territory. Costa Rica asked the international tribunal to define the ownership of the small territory after Nicaragua initiated military occupation of the area in 2010, unleashing tensions between the two countries and causing environmental damages to the wetland.

San José originally asked for approximately $6 million, but the court reduced the amount in its Feb. 2 ruling.