Development: Today (8 March) security delegations from Costa Rica and Nicaragua will attend a bilateral security meeting in Costa Rica’s capital, San José. Significance: The meeting, which comes at a low point in bilateral relations amid continued tensions over the San Juan River territorial dispute, is the first under a mechanism established by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague following its ruling on the dispute. Despite the continued tensions, both countries continue to cooperate on anti narcotics efforts. Key points: • According to a statement from Costa Rica’s foreign ministry, the meeting is aimed at establishing “coordinated…

Development: On 7 March in Havana, Cuba, President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia met his Cuban and Venezuelan counterparts, Raúl Castro and Hugo Chávez. Significance: Santos and Castro reportedly spent over four hours together at Castro’s private residence in Havana. According to one reputable commentator, Venezuela’s Nelson Bocaranda, the row over Cuba’s invitation to the Summit of the Americas in Cartagena next month was a smokescreen for the real agenda - talks between Santos, the Castro brothers and Chávez about the down-but-not-out largest Colombian guerrilla group, Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (Farc). Key points: • As expected, Cuba will not…

Nicaragua | More rumbling within the ranks.  On 7 March several hundred former soldiers of the now-defunct Sandinista army, Ejército Popular Sandinista, blocked the Inter-American Highway, for a second day, They are calling for that the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN) government of President Daniel Ortega to attend their social and economic demands. Protesters are demanding the approval of a law granting them special benefits such as pensions and specialised medical attention. The demonstration follows other signs of disgruntlement from lower down the party ranks after FSLN supporters last month protested against the presidential couple’s imposition of candidates for…