90 Chapter 2
MID#1170
Started in March 1929. See the narrative in the 2 United States of America/91 Honduras
dyad dispute list.
MID#1173
Dispute Number: 1173
Date(s): February 1957 to June 23, 1957
Participants: 93 Nicaragua/91 Honduras
Outcome (and Settlement): Compromise (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 26–100 deaths
Narrative: This is a territorial dispute over the Mosquito Coast, an area along the
Caribbean that the Spanish king had granted to Honduras in an arbitral award in 1906.
Nicaragua challenged the award in 1912 but to no avail. Then, in 1957, Nicaragua
contested Gracias a Dios, a new state created by Honduras in the disputed territory.
On April 19, 50 Nicaraguan national guardsmen entered Mocoron in the disputed ter-
ritory. Honduras broke diplomatic relations, appealed to the Organization of American
States (OAS), and allegedly bombed Mocoron. Clashes in the disputed territory con-
tinued until May 7, when both countries accepted an OAS call for troop withdrawal.
Nicaragua and Honduras subsequently petitioned the International Court of Justice
(ICJ) for resolution to the dispute, and in 1960 the ICJ ruled that the 1906 arbitral award
was binding.
Coding changes: Start Date changed from April 19, 1957. Fatalities changed from None.
MID#2344
Dispute Number: 2344
Date(s): August 14, 1962
Participants: 93 Nicaragua/91 Honduras
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (None)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: Honduran forces exchanged fire with Nicaraguan national guards in
Cifuentes, Honduras. The Nicaraguan forces crossed into Honduras from Jalapa,
Nicaragua, and fired on a school ceremony in Cifuentes. Then, Honduran forces
arrived. One Nicaraguan officer was taken prisoner. Four members of the Nicaraguan
national guard were killed and one Honduran was killed.
MID#2325
Dispute Number: 2325
Date(s): September 10, 1979 to December 1979
Participants: 91 Honduras/93 Nicaragua
Outcome (and Settlement): Unclear (Negotiated)
Fatalities: 1–25 deaths
Narrative: The Sandinistas came to power in Nicaragua in July 1979, and 3,000
members of the Nicaraguan national guard—an organization known for committing