Presidenta Laura Chinchilla said the territorial dispute with Nicaragua has given her gastritis. Doña Laura in an interview with a printed newspaper said she has not take medication to relieve gastritis and continues outraged by what her government has called an invasion by Nicaragua of Costa Rica.
Chinchilla said in the interview that this case has highlighted the need for the country, which abolished its army in 1948, to strengthen national and border security, but said she will continue to pursue the path of international law and diplomacy to solve the problem.
"I think (the case of Isla) Calero highlights, once again, the little attention that Costa Rica has given to its police forces and the little attention that has been paid to security issues, public safety or national security," said the presidenta.
Chinchilla said, "we'll go where we have to go" to resolve the dispute "giving priority to what is natural in us Costaricans, which is the way of international law."
Costa Rica has accused Nicaragua before international forums for the invasion of the Isla Calero with its military forces, of building a canal to connect the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua to Los Portillos in the Caribbean, causing serious environmental damage, according to the Costa Rican government.
Nicaragua has responded to the accusations by saying the work is being done within its territory and the dispute is a border issue and nothing more.
On March 8 the International Court of Justice in The Hague (ICJ) will hand down their decision following several days of hearings last January on a request by Costa Rica to temporarily stop Nicaragua from continuing the dredging of the river and the removal of its troops from the disputed territory.
A full court case to decide on the dispute is four to five years away.
On Saturday Costa Rica's Foreign Minister, Rene Castro, embarked on a secret tour of countries in support of Costa Rica's case ahead of the ICJ ruling.
Experts believe that anything less than a full sanction against Nicaragua is a loss for Costa Rican diplomacy and force the country to the United Nationals Security Council.
Meanwhile in Nicaragua, president Daniel Ortega was elected as the Sandinista presidential candidate in the November presidential elections in Nicaragua.
Many believe that the dispute with Costa Rica is a ploy by Ortega to rally support for his re-election to a third term.
