Recently, a Nicaraguan military commander led his soldiers into Costa Rica and replaced their Costa Rican flag with a Nicaraguan flag.
An act of defiance? An act of war? No. A complete accident. Google Maps simply misled the commander as to the official boundaries between the nations. Because the boundaries are not in dispute. And it’s not as if Nicaragua is refusing to give up the territory. Once made aware of the mistake, the commander apologized. But, this could have had serious consequences. Fortunately, Costa Rica, who has asked the Organization of American States to weigh in on the issue, doesn’t have a standing army. But what if this happened to two other countries?
I guess the fact in this story I’m most surprised by is that international militaries are utilizing free Google GPS tools? It is worth noting that reportedly, Microsoft Bing’s map have this border near San Juan del Norte accurately mapped. Boy, Bing could turn this incident into a hysterical PR commercial if they wanted.