President Luis Guillermo Solís criticized Nicaragua’s exhibition of weapons, including a T-72B1 Russian tank, and called it “a hidden threat” from the neighboring country.
The exhibition of that weapon is not constructive, it is a hidden threat that Costa Rica would not even consider for Nicaragua. We are not an aggressive country,”
said Solís in an activity at the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
Showing these weapons is an action against the government of Costa Rica, that has no more meaning than an unnecessary show of force that is not acceptable in these times of peace,”
added the Costa Rican president.
On Monday, Nicaragua’s Army showed a Russian tank during the opening of an exhibition of naval, aerial and artillery weapons.
The tank is part of a purchase of Russian weapons, according to the Nicaraguan press, which includes 50 tanks, boats and helicopters, to allegedly fight drug trafficking.
According to Solís, war weapons cannot be used to fight drug trafficking.
We believe this purchase is unfair at a time when our peoples need more education, more human development,”
said Solís.
Costa Rica and Nicaragua remain tense relations due to border disputes, and the sovereignty over a small territory in the Caribbean coast and the delimitation of the maritime boundary in the Pacific.
The second case is pending a ruling by the International Court of Justice, while the first was already solved by the court in favor of Costa Rica.