The Nicaragua Canal?

You cannot make this stuff up. Does Central America need a huge infrastructure project to compete with the Panama Canal? Evidently, Daniel Ortega thinks it does. And he's not alone:

President Daniel Ortega brought back from the ashes of the national imaginary what The Nicaraguan Dispatch dubbed as Nicaragua’s ‘500-year-old canal fantasy,’ which Ortega promised to fulfill following his return to power in 2006.

Out of the various canal projects which have surfaced over the past decade, it seems Ortega has put his sights on the most ambitious – the Grand Inter-Oceanic Aquatic Canal of Nicaragua, whose construction is estimated at approximately US$350m.

On 6 June, the government submitted a draft bill to the country’s National Assembly for the construction of a canal which would connect the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and thus serve as an alternative to its Panamanian counterpart....

The Nicaraguan canal ‘fantasy’ is certainly not new, dating back to colonial times when a Spanish royal decree was issued to explore a possible trade route between the San Juan river and Lake Nicaragua.

In the 19th century, the U.S. became the main patron of Nicaragua’s inter-oceanic ambitions, reaching an agreement with the Central American nation for a co-owned canal in 1884, which went down the drain in the early 1900’s in favour of Panama and its own canal project.

And today, in case anyone thought this was some kind of Central American inside baseball, The New York Times reports:

Two Dutch companies say they have been awarded a $720,000 (€587,000) contract by the Nicaraguan government to study the feasibility of building a rival to the Panama canal that would travel through Nicaragua and Costa Rica.

Since the early 1800s, the so-called "Nicaragua Canal" has been considered a serious possibility as a route that could link the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea, though the Panama Canal ultimately won out. Some experts believe the growth of global shipping means that two canals through Central America would benefit the industry, especially if a Nicaragua Canal could accommodate larger ships.

Infrastructure company Royal HaaskoningDHV and Ecorys said Monday they will complete their study by early 2013. The Nicaraguan government has loosely estimated construction costs at $20 billion and would seek international investors.

Speaking of fantasies, these stories reminded of Werner Herzog's 1982 film,Fitzcarraldo and its devastating attempt to haul a 320 ton riverboat over a hill for a portage. Only in this case, the ships will be much larger.

Updated: Eric Volz Is Free!!

Eric Volz

CNN reports:

An American man held in a Nicaraguan jail was released Friday, four days after a court overturned his conviction on charges of murdering his former girlfriend, his family told CNN. /snip

A mix-up kept Eric Volz, 28, of Nashville, Tennessee, in custody after an appeals court reversed the ruling that found him guilty of the 2005 death of Doris Jimenez.

Thursday night, a Nicaraguan appeals court in Granada cleared up the confusion and signed release papers for Volz, said Maria Jose Oviedo, assistant to one of the judges on the court.

Once the documents were processed by the police hospital in Managua -- where Volz was undergoing treatment for a variety of ailments -- he was set free under Nicaraguan law, a court official said.

This probably doesn't end the case. CNN reports that the prosecutors may still appeal. For the previous Eric Volz blog entry, click here

Eric Volz Conviction Reversed, But He's Not Free

Eric Volz

Back in March 23, 2007, I wrote an essay about Eric Volz, an American convicted in Nicaragua of a murder he didn't commit. The victim was his girl friend; he had proof that he was far away in Managua when the murder took place. He was convicted anyway in what I felt was a classic, ugly miscarriage of justice. And he was sentenced to 30 years' imprisonment. He's been locked up ever since in Nicaragua. Now there's some good news and some bad news about the case.

The good news is that the conviction has been reversed. The bad news is that Eric Volz is not free and that the government will apparently seek a further appeal in the case to the Supreme Court of Nicaragua. He may be detained until that appeal is completed.

This from The Wall Street Journal:

Days after a Nicaraguan appeals court threw out his murder conviction and ordered him freed immediately, Eric Volz, a 28-year-old surfer-turned real-estate broker, is still in custody. His case is taking bizarre new turns that shine a spotlight on the unpredictability of the Nicaraguan legal system.

The delay also brought a fresh round of exasperation for Mr. Volz's family members, who believed Monday that Mr. Volz was on the verge of walking out of custody and on to a jet home. "I feel like my son has been kidnapped," Maggie Anthony, the man's mother, said by telephone.

The U.S. Embassy in Managua issued a statement on Tuesday calling on local authorities to implement the appeals court order freeing him, and return his passport. "We trust that the Nicaraguan authorities will ensure the safety and well being of Mr. Volz while he is in custody."

Mr. Volz's lawyer, Fabbrith Gomez accused court officials of using illegal tactics to delay Mr. Volz's release while they regroup and attempt to mount a new case, or a Supreme Court appeal. For example, under Nicaraguan law, before Mr. Volz can be freed, the lower court judge who first convicted him must acknowledge the appeals court ruling with a signature. That judge has so far avoided signing. She didn't show up at her courthouse when the papers arrived, claiming she had a flat tire, members of Mr. Volz's defense team have said. Later, the judge claimed to have returned the unsigned papers back to the appeals court on the grounds that the pages of the appeals court ruling weren't numbered correctly. The appeals court, meantime, says the papers were never received – and the whereabouts of the ruling are unknown at this time.

It's hard to imagine a legal system in which a judge's signature on original documents can hold up release of a defendant and the documents are driven across the country to be signed. This case has previously required a suspension of disbelief, so that may be appropriate again now.

CNN makes the procedure seem only slightly more rational:

Nicaraguan prosecutors are appealing a court's decision that overturned an American man's conviction in the killing of his former girlfriend and set the stage for his release, officials said.

Magazine publisher Eric Volz's mother says she's concerned for his safety.

The office of Isadora Ibarra, prosecuting attorney, said she had left Wednesday to deliver the appeal to Granada.

Eric Volz, 28, of Nashville, Tennessee, remains in custody despite the Monday ruling by a Nicaraguan appeals court that he should be released immediately.

His attorney, Fabbrith Gomez, has said the Managua judge who sentenced Volz -- Ivette Toruno Blanco -- was stalling on signing court documents, holding up his release. Blanco has said the documents were incorrectly numbered and returned to Granada, Gomez said.

So the craziness of this case continues. Eric Volz is not yet free. His case may be headed for a Supreme Court review. I have been unable to find information about whether bail is available to Volz pending a further appeal by the Government.

For updates: click here.