Nicaragua, Colombia dispute over islands

MANAGUA, Nicaragua, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Nicaragua appears to be at an impasse with Colombia over the ownership of three small Caribbean islands off Nicaragua's coast.

The International Court of Justice, the United Nation's highest court, said it couldn't rule on the matter as a treaty made in 1928 between Nicaragua and Colombia giving Colombia ownership of the islands was still valid, El Nuevo Diario reported Thursday.

Nicaragua began contesting the treaty giving the islands to Colombia during the 1980s when the country's Sandinista government claimed the treaty with Colombia was signed under U.S. pressure.