Nicaragua Accidentally Invades Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps

from the oops dept

Fri, Nov 5th 2010 9:01am — Mike Masnick

You would think that military professionals would rely on something other than Google Maps in determining where countries have their borders. However, down in Central America, there's apparently been something of an international incident, after a Nicaraguan military commander, using Google Maps as his guide, brought his troops into Costa Rica. He insists that he was just following what Google Maps said, and that he never intended to go into the neighboring country. Yet... the report also notes that there was a Costa Rican flag there, which the Nicaraguans took down and replaced with their own flag. You would think, at that point, that everyone involved might double check to make sure they were on the right side of the border. After raising their own flag, the Nicaraguans apparently set up camp, cleaned up a nearby river (nice of them) and then dumped sediment into Costa Rican territory (not so nice of them). If this truly is an honest mistake, then hopefully nothing more is made of it, but it sounds like Costa Rican citizens are quite upset about the whole thing, leading Costa Rican President Laura Chinchilla to go on TV to ask citizens to "be calm... amid the outrage that these events provoke within us."

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: costa rica, google maps, nicaragua

32 Comments

If you liked this post, you may also be interested in...

Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread

:Lobo Santo (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:05am

If we ever needed undeniable proof...
...that Google is bringing about world change, we now have it!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Dark Helmet (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:22am
  
  Re: If we ever needed undeniable proof...
  As for Google, you'd think a company that's part of the Council on Foreign Relations might...you know...get the borders thing correct....
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - Henny, 5 Nov 2010 @ 4:46pm
    
    Re: Re: If we ever needed undeniable proof...
    Well yeah... lines and borders... for years they had some highways over my hometown lake. in reality, there is not even a small bridge.
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
  - btrussell (profile), 6 Nov 2010 @ 4:04am
    
    Re: Re: If we ever needed undeniable proof...
    "This morning, after a discussion with the data supplier for this particular border (the U.S. Department of State), we determined that there was indeed an error in the compilation of the source data, by up to 2.7 kilometers. The U.S. Department of State has provided a corrected version and we are now working to update our maps."
    http://searchengineland.com/google-maps-uncle-sams-to-blame-costa-rica-nicaragua-border-5498 1
    [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yogi, 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:17am

WTF
Seems like TechDirt has decided to copy The Onion's business model...I mean, this can't be for real, can it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Xander C (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:53am
  
  Re: WTF
  http://searchengineland.com/nicaragua-raids-costa-rica-blames-google-maps-54885
  
  Unlike the Onion, this actually DID happen: http://searchengineland.com/nicaragua-raids-costa-rica-blames-google-maps-54885
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Christopher Gizzi (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:35am

Next time... blame the GPS device.
And just say it told you to zig when you should have zag'ed.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- Anonymous Coward, 6 Nov 2010 @ 2:34am
  
  Re: Next time... blame the GPS device.
  Reminds me of when it told me to take a "slight left". Wondering what a "slight left" was, I paid close attention to that section of road....and found that it was actually a "slight right" that I wanted to take instead.
  
  Thus I took the right rather the left...and people sue companies for mistakes like this because they're incapable of something resembling thought.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jim Gaudet (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:40am

Living in Costa Rica
It's funny that all of sudden there is news about Costa Rica in the "tech" world. Any news, will get people trying to get that traffic.

But thanks though, because since this crap with Nicaragua, I am getting a lot more traffic to my site..
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Mike C. (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:45am

A little more info...
A few little tidbits I learned when I was vacationing in Costa Rica in 2009. First, they have no military and thus no way to "fight back" if necessary.

Second, Costa Rica has an illegal immigration problem with Nicaraguans coming over the border for day labor. The Costa Rican folks I talked to about it actually had quite a bit of resentment towards Nicaragua because of this. Add in a strong feeling of national pride on the part of the average Costa Rican and their anger isn't much of a surprise to me.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jason, 5 Nov 2010 @ 9:47am

That's all folks!
Google: I toldja you shoulda taken that left at Albaquoikie!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Michael, 5 Nov 2010 @ 10:11am

Military Leader?
"He insists that he was just following what Google Maps said, and that he never intended to go into the neighboring country"

Is anyone else concerned that this guy is some kind of military leader? Did Nicaragua stop teaching it's military how to use - you know - a map and a compass?

Can we make sure they do not have any weapons that can reach us? I'd hate to find out they are guiding their bombs with something they found in a Fruit Loops box.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Berenerd (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 10:12am

So George bush is in the clear...
all he needed to do is say "Google maps said there were WMDs in iraq!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
chris (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 10:59am

trusting Google maps!!
I tentatively trust my TomTom for an accurate map. The military trust Google maps! They have my local pizza place on the other side of the road!

They should have looked for the dotted line on the ground, that would have told them

Hey ho
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Yogi, 5 Nov 2010 @ 11:08am

WTF
Seems like TechDirt has decided to copy The Onion's business model...I mean, this can't be for real, can it?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jim C, 5 Nov 2010 @ 11:54am

Taking advantage
I would consider it more likely that the commander was told there was an error in the map and decided to take advantage of it.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
TtfnJohn (profile), 5 Nov 2010 @ 12:36pm

It's Nice To Have Google Maps To Blame
The commander in this incident seems a bit less than competent if he used Google Maps at all for any of this.

On top of that, I'm willing to wager the troops were ordered in there to clean up the river regardless of the international border.

It all just seems far too tidy an operation to "make a mistake" and just happen to have brought along all the equipment needed to do a river cleanup.

Of course, it's just so handy to be able to blame this on Google Maps!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
- manifesto, 11 Nov 2010 @ 3:40pm
  
  Re: It's Nice To Have Google Maps To Blame
  The commander in charge is apparently Eden Pastora, and if that's the case, is far more competent than he's letting on. This whole Google maps thing is just a pretext. There's a long history of territorial dispute along the San Juan River and this is just a country with a history of military aggression as well as border disputes with its neighbors north AND south, provoking a neutral country into some sort of stand-off.
  [ link to this | view in chronology ]
Feralnostalgia, 5 Nov 2010 @ 12:40pm

somebody didn't check to make sure they were using the right datum...oops.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Nov 2010 @ 12:47pm

a lot of this information is not accurate, please check
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Jake, 5 Nov 2010 @ 1:02pm

I'm fully prepared to believe that the Nicaraguan armed forces resorted to Google Maps to stretch out their undoubtedly meager budget, but their subsequent actions suggest that this statement is what's known in journalistic circles as a " barefaced lie".
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Hayden hughes, 5 Nov 2010 @ 2:24pm

WOW. I'm at a loss for words.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Nov 2010 @ 3:51pm

The first thing that happens when a screwup is made, is to blame some one else for your fault.

I would dearly hate to know that a military leader for my country was not able to navigate terrain. How else are you going to get where you need to go?

Depending on civilian infrastructure to do the job won't work if the first thing that happens is jamming air waves and internet traffic. Jamming is one of the first things done in a war scenario.

It is very obvious that this military leader has no business being a leader, because he is incompetent.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Johnny Corrales, 5 Nov 2010 @ 3:55pm

Costa Rica - Nicaragua Border
If this is a accidental invasion, why do the nicaraguans are still in Costarican soil.

Ortega and Pastora had their own agenda, an messing up with a country without army is easy for them.

Fuckers!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Johnny Corrales, 5 Nov 2010 @ 3:55pm

Costa Rica - Nicaragua Border
If this is a accidental invasion, why do the nicaraguans are still in Costarican soil?

Ortega and Pastora had their own agenda, an messing up with a country without army is easy for them.

Fuckers!!
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Costarrican, 5 Nov 2010 @ 5:34pm

What did you expect?
Come on... They do not even know where they are standing. What did you expect from a country with a low education rate and even lower culture?
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 5 Nov 2010 @ 7:44pm

stupid Nicas
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
This comment has been flagged by the community. Click here to show it

Jon Noowtun, 6 Nov 2010 @ 2:13am

This is just more evidence of how EVIL Gargle is!!!!! The entire company should be thrown in jail and their snooping web sites burned!!!!!

www.Pee2PeeNet.net
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
indyjones, 7 Nov 2010 @ 6:39am

I see the Ortega brothers/Sandanistas are at it again. Shouldn't surprise anyone.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
al590, 11 Nov 2010 @ 10:12pm

wrong
they weren`t cleaning the river, they were making it deeper, and they throw the sediments to Costa Rica.
BTW IS NOT ACCIDENTALLY.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Gutter Cleaning Auckland, 9 Oct 2013 @ 8:14pm

Mistakes happen, but that is pretty huge. I hope everyone forgives one another.
[ link to this | view in chronology ]
Anonymous Coward, 16 Oct 2014 @ 11:30am

boo
[ link to this | view in chronology ]