Many put attention to the "New Granada Crisis" (an expression that refers to the 19th century State that joins Colombia, Venezuela and Ecuador and that was dissolved in 1830.) The northerm South American countries seem not to resolve a crisis that started when the Colombian army attacked a FARC camp in the Ecuadorian territory last March 1 that killed the guerrilla top leader Luid Edgar Devia Silva, known as Raul Reyes. Before any reaction of Quito, the goverment of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez sent a strong protest against Bogot for what Caracas considered a serious international violation of the Ecuadorian sovereignity. The government of Rafael Correa took its time to react, but it was so strong as the Venezuelan starting an international campaign to condemn Colombia for its military action. By its part, Colombia asked excuses for the event and stated that it has the right to defend the country from any terrorist treat. As a result, the computers of the late FARC leader became a tool to demostrate friendly involvements from Caracas and Quito with the first enemy of the Colombian democracy.

It was only the introduction of the crisis that concerns the West Hemisphere. Howere, there is also another actor not less polemic: Nicaragua. How is it possible that the Central American nation is so involved in a crisis that concerns South America?

A simple observer can see Nicaragua at enough distant from the coasts of Colombia, Ecuador and Venezuela to conclude that it is just an intervention of president Daniel Ortega in others affairs. But it is not like that. Nicaragua is more near to the "New Granada" than we can imagine and it has more interests in the crisis that we can presume.

Just few months before the "New Granada Crisis" started, the International Court of Justice of The Hage answered to the Nicaraguan claim on the Colombian Archipelago of San Andres and Providence. In 1980 the same president Ortega declared no validity for the Colombian-Nicaraguan Agreement of 1929 where Colombia recognized the sovereignity of Nicaragua on the Mosquito Coast that belonged to the Viceroyalty of New Granada (also a part of Nicaragua was a part of New Granada), and Nicaragua recognized the sovereignity of Colombia on the San Andres islands based on documents of the Colonial times when Madrid placed those territories under Bogot jurisdiction.

It is possible to think that after the decision of The Hague, Ortega wanted to punish Colombia supporting Ecuador in

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