Quita Sueño Bank
Encyclopedia
Quita Sueño Bank is a reef formation of Colombia
which was once claimed by the United States
, located 110 km North-northeast of Providencia Island
.
of 1856. In 1972 a treaty was signed (ratified in 1981) between the United States and Colombia which abandoned the US claims to the reef. Unlike the some islands included in the treaty which were ceded to Colombia, Quita Sueño Bank was regarded by the United States as having no emergent land and thus ineligible for the basis of a sovereignty claim. Rather than being ceded to any particular nation, the claim was simply abandoned with American fishing rights retained. Colombia, which had also made previous claims on the reef, disputes the fact that Quita Sueño Bank is not subject to sovereignty claims and considers the bank to be a part of its San Andres and Providencia Department
.
In the northern part of the eastern reef is Quita Sueño Light.
Nicaragua
also lays claim to the bank.
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
which was once claimed by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located 110 km North-northeast of Providencia Island
Providencia Island
Isla de Providencia or Old Providence is a mountainous Caribbean island. Though it is closer to Nicaragua, it is part of the Archipelago of San Andres, Providencia and Santa Catalina, a department of Colombia, lying midway between Costa Rica and Jamaica...
.
History
In 1869, James Jennett claimed the bank for the US under the Guano Islands ActGuano Islands Act
The Guano Islands Act is federal legislation passed by the U.S. Congress, on August 18, 1856. It enables citizens of the U.S. to take possession of islands containing guano deposits. The islands can be located anywhere, so long as they are not occupied and not within the jurisdiction of other...
of 1856. In 1972 a treaty was signed (ratified in 1981) between the United States and Colombia which abandoned the US claims to the reef. Unlike the some islands included in the treaty which were ceded to Colombia, Quita Sueño Bank was regarded by the United States as having no emergent land and thus ineligible for the basis of a sovereignty claim. Rather than being ceded to any particular nation, the claim was simply abandoned with American fishing rights retained. Colombia, which had also made previous claims on the reef, disputes the fact that Quita Sueño Bank is not subject to sovereignty claims and considers the bank to be a part of its San Andres and Providencia Department
San Andrés and Providencia Department
Archipelago of San Andrés, Providencia and Santa Catalina ; or colloquially San Andrés y Providencia is one of the departments of Colombia. It consists of two island groups about northwest of Colombia and from the coast of Nicaragua, and eight outlying banks and reefs...
.
In the northern part of the eastern reef is Quita Sueño Light.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
also lays claim to the bank.