Our Series on Tiny Disputes takes us to Central America, where a dispute over territorial waters and coastal islands involving three countries lasted for many decades.
The Gulf of Fonseca is a small gulf on the Pacific shores of Central America. On its Western End, it is closed by lands that belongs to El Salvador and, on its Eastern end, by lands that belong to Nicaragua. However, those two countries do not share a land border. In between, holding the longest shoreline in the inner gulf is Honduras. As Honduras could not exit the gulf without entering the territorial waters of one of its neighbours, it created tension between the countries. Furthermore, ownership of several islands could significantly redraw territorial waters, and potentially give Honduras direct access to the sea.
The International Court of Justice intervened in the late 1980s and decided in 1992 that the waters of the Gulf were under shared control. Two of the three disputed islands were awarded to El Salvador while the third was awarded to Honduras.
The Gulf of Fonseca Dispute
