Reply #4: Peru has thrown a monkey wrench into any Bolivia-Chile deal

[rabs]

Peru has taken its claims over about 35,000 square kilomters in northern Chile to the International Court in The Hague. This will setback negotiations between Santiago and La Paz for any outlet for Bolivia to the Pacific.

http://en.mercopress.com/2009/03/24/bolivias-president-says-quest-for-coast-threatened-by-peru-chile-dispute

Btw, there was another "unknown" war in the Southern Cone. It was called the War of the Triple Alliance. Paraguay declared war on Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay and fought all three. Needless to say, Paraguay lost. Some reports say up to 90 percent of Paraguayans were killed. Tough hombres, those Paraguayans, they fought literally to the last men.

An interesting sidebar to this war was that Brazil abolished slavery after the conflict. It was because slaves were freed to fight in the war, and that got the ball rolling for emancipation. Before the U.S. freed the slaves.