Obama AWOL on Nicaragua

In case further proof was needed that the Organization of American States (OAS) has become embarrassingly incompetent, witness its pathetic response to Nicaragua’s invasion of Costa Rica. On November 13, the organization passed a resolution calling for Managua to withdraw its military forces from Calero Island (located in the San Juan River). Nicaragua refused to comply, and its president, Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, angrily threatened to withdraw his country from the OAS. As of December 7, when the institution hosted a meeting of foreign officials to discuss the matter, Nicaraguan troops were still occupying the river island, which has always been considered part of Costa Rican territory. Yet rather than sanction Nicaragua for its behavior, the OAS merely reiterated its earlier demands. It imposed no diplomatic penalty or punishment. This amounted to a whitewash of Ortega’s aggression.