Not an Onion headline: Nicaragua Raids Costa Rica, Blames Google Maps

    Search Engine Land was the first to report that a Nicaraguan commander who has been using Google maps, led his troops into neighboring Costa Rica.

    La Nacion -- the largest newspaper in Costa Rica -- says the Nicaraguan commander, Eden Pastora, used Google Maps to "justify" the incursion even though the official maps used by both countries indicate the territory belongs to Costa Rica. Pastora blames Google Maps in the paper:

    See the satellite photo on Google and there you see the border. In the last 3,000 meters, the two sides are from Nicaragua.

    One really has to ask: Is Google the best source of military data? Does Google Maps really trump government data? The president of Costa Rica is urging his citizens to be calm about the incident. More on SEL.