After a border dispute which has flared up over the last few months, neighboring countries Costa Rica and Nicaragua have signed an agreement to work together in the fight against organized crime, reports EFE.
In October 2010 Costa Rica accused Nicaragua of invading territory after it sent troops to the contested Calero Island, in the San Juan river, to oversee dredging work. In March, the International Court of Justice in The Hague ordered both countries to remove all security forces from the disputed territory, and work to collaborate against organized crime.
The two nations have now agreed to implement a new system to coordinate intelligence and police work. They also decided that police from each country can cross the border when chasing criminals, without this being defined as a violation of sovereignty. Mauricio Boraschi, Costa Rica’s national anti-drug commissioner, said that the contested area was a key route for cocaine trafficking.
Representatives of the governments of Mexico and Guatemala, where the meeting was held, served as mediators in the Calero Island conflict. A Guatemalan minister called the agreement a step towards solving the territorial dispute.
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