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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/bajo-nuevo.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-301" /><figcaption>Satellite imagery of Bajo Nuevo from space (Photo contributed, National Aeronautics and Space Administration [NASA], International Space Station [ISS])</figcaption></figure>
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<p>Tucked away near the middle of the Caribbean Sea, lies the Bajo Nuevo Bank: a small, uninhabited reef with some grass-covered islets.</p>
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<p>Also known as the Petrel Islands, these tiny specs have been the subject of a bitter sovereignty dispute between Colombia and the United States.</p>
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<p>But what you didn’t know, is over 30 years ago, Jamaica was also
caught up in the ownership dispute, but has since backed off for some time.</p>
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<p>Between 1982 and 1986, the Government of Jamaica signed and
maintained a series of bilateral agreements – culminating in a maritime
delimitation treaty between the island and the Republic of Colombia.</p>
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<p>The maritime delimitation treaty was signed in Kingston on
Friday, November 12, 1993, by ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade
for Jamaica and Colombia respectively, Paul Robertson and Noemí Sanín Posada.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/posada-paul-robertson-sbscollage-buzz-1024x614.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-304" /><figcaption>(from left) Former Ministers of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade for Colombia and Jamaica in 1993,  Noemí Sanín Posada and the late Paul Roberston respectively (Photos contributed, Jamaica Information Service [JIS], ElTiempo.com) </figcaption></figure>
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<p>At the time, Jamaica's claim, as with the other countries
embroiled in the dispute, stemmed from attempts to expand the island’s
exclusive economic zone over the surrounding seas.</p>
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<p>Today, Jamaica’s claim for Bajo Nuevo remains largely dormant
since bilateral agreements with Colombia came into force in 1994.</p>
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<p>If you’ve made it this far then we still have your attention, and seeing as you’re eager to know more,&nbsp;<strong><em>BUZZ</em></strong>&nbsp;presents 23 fast facts about Bajo Nuevo:</p>
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<p><strong>1.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;The islands are located along the coordinates
15°53′N (fifteen degrees, fifty-three minutes north) and 78°38′W (seventy-eight
degrees, thirty-eight minutes west) and are geographically closest to Jamaica –
some 288 kilometres southwest of the island.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/bajo-nuevo-google-maps-jamaica-1024x583.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-302" width="587" height="334" /><figcaption>Bajo Nuevo's proximity to Jamaica (Photo contributed, Google Maps)</figcaption></figure>
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<p><strong>2.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Bajo Nuevo Bank is about
26&nbsp;kilometres (16&nbsp;miles) long and 9&nbsp;kilometres (5.6&nbsp;miles)
wide. The closest neighbouring land feature is Serranilla Bank, located 110
kilometres (68 miles) to the west.</p>
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<p><strong>3.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The reef was first shown on Dutch maps dating to 1634 but was given its present name in 1654. British pirate John Glover rediscovered Bajo Nuevo in 1660.</p>
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<p><strong>4.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Satellite imagery from the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) shows two distinct
atoll-like structures separated by a deep channel under a mile wide at its
narrowest point. The reef partially dries on the southern and eastern sides,
with the land area being minuscule by comparison.</p>
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<p><strong>5.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The most prominent land area is Low Cay,
in the southwest atoll, which extends for 300 metres and widens at a maximum of
40 metres across. No more than two metres above sea level, the barren island is
composed of broken coral, driftwood, and sand.</p>
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<p><strong>6.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;A total of five countries have laid claim to
sovereignty over Bajo Nuevo, namely: Jamaica, Colombia, Nicaragua, Honduras and
the United States.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/bajo-nuevo-countries-dispute-flags-1024x614.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-305" /><figcaption>(From top left to bottom right) The flags of Colombia, the United States, Honduras, Jamaica and Nicaragua (Images contributed, Wikipedia)</figcaption></figure>
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<p><strong>7.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;James W. Jennett, empowered under provisions
of the controversial Guano Islands Act, initiated the US’ claim on November 22,
1869. To this day, the US administers Bajo Nuevo bank as an ‘unorganized,
unincorporated United States territory’.</p>
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<p><strong>8.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;Similarly to other territories
claimed under the Guano Islands Act in the Caribbean and Oceania, persons born
on Bajo Nuevo to non-citizens are considered by the United States to be US
nationals, but not US citizens.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/usa_flag-demo-1024x614.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-307" /><figcaption>United States flag (Image contributed, US State Department)</figcaption></figure>
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<p><strong>9.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;Colombia currently claims the area as part of
the department of San Andrés and Providencia. The San Andrés fleet of the
Colombian Navy carries out naval patrols in the area, as the republic maintains
that it has claimed these territories since 1886 – as part of the geographic
archipelago of San Andrés and Providencia.</p>
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<p><strong>10.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The November 1993 maritime delimitation treaty, between Colombia and Jamaica, established a "Joint Regime Area", which allowed both countries to cooperatively manage and exploit living and non-living resources in designated waters between the two aforementioned banks.</p>
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<p><strong>11.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;Bajo Nuevo’s territorial waters immediately
surrounding the cays themselves were excluded from the zone of joint-control,
as Colombia considers these areas to be part of her coastal waters.</p>
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<p><strong>12.&nbsp;&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;The maritime delimitation treaty came effect four months later and was recognised by international law in March 1994.</p>
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<p><strong>13.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;The Colombian Ministry of Defense constructed
a light beacon on Low Cay in 1982. The metal structure towers 21&nbsp;metres
above the Caribbean Sea and is painted white with a red top. The beacon emits
two white flashes of light every 15 seconds. After sustaining some damage, the
beacon was reconstructed by the Colombians in February 2008 and is currently
maintained by the navy.</p>
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<figure class="wp-block-image is-resized"><img src="https://buzz-caribbean.com/app/uploads/2019/07/bajo-nuevo-light-beacon.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-306" width="412" height="531" /><figcaption>A light beacon erected on the shores of Low Cay, Bajo Nuevo (Photo contributed, Colombian Ministry of Defence)</figcaption></figure>
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<p><strong>14.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Nicaragua bases its claim to Bajo Nuevo Bank
due to the islands sitting on its continental shelf, covering an area of over
50,000 square kilometres in the Caribbean Sea. In fact, the Central American
country lays claim to all islands associated with the San Andrés and
Providencia archipelagoes.</p>
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<p><strong>15.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;Successive Nicaraguan governments have
persistently pursued claims against Colombia in the International Court of
Justice (ICJ), filing cases in both 2001 and 2007.</p>
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<p><strong>16.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;On November 19, 2012, in regards to Nicaraguan claims to the islands, the ICJ ruled unanimously that Colombia has sovereignty over both Bajo Nuevo and Serranilla Banks.</p>
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<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p>"<strong><em>Bajo Nuevo reportedly contains no 'meaningful mineral reserves'</em></strong>" </p></blockquote>
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<p><strong>17.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;The islands remain a Colombian territory and are a key stopping point in the country’s fight against drug and weapons smuggling, but all the other claimant nations still have limited access to them.</p>
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<p><strong>18.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Bajo Nuevo is positioned inside a modestly
productive fishing (mostly lobsters) zone, but the seabed reportedly contains
no 'meaningful mineral reserves', and only small amounts of hydrocarbon fuels
have been identified.</p>
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<p><strong>19.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp;Honduras, another claimant to Bajo Nuevo and
the nearby Serranilla Bank, effectively ended its role in the dispute with the
ratification of a maritime boundary treaty with Colombia on December 20, 1999.</p>
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<p><strong>20.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; According to the treaty, both states agreed upon a
maritime demarcation in 1986 that excluded Honduras from any control over the
banks or their surrounding waters.</p>
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<p><strong>21.</strong>&nbsp;&nbsp; This bilateral treaty ensured that Honduras
implicitly recognises Colombia's sovereignty over the disputed territories.</p>
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<p><strong>22.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp; Bajo Nuevo Bank and Serranilla Bank have been
repeatedly included as per American sources as one of ten insular areas in the
Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea that make up the US’ Minor Outlying Islands
classification.</p>
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<p><strong>23.&nbsp;</strong>&nbsp; Baker Island, Howland Island, Jarvis Island, Johnston Atoll, Kingman Reef, Midway Islands, Navassa Island, Palmyra Atoll, and Wake Island comprise the remaining nine disputed territories.</p>
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<p>Did you know these islands existed? What were the most surprising facts you read? Let us know in the comments section! </p>
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