--- description: Tens of thousands of people worry their property will be taken over to make way for the canal title: Nicaragua Canal Protests image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9014390f08076f85/69876e2f2dce011fec9dc604/rtr4hirn.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Nicaragua](/tag/nicaragua/) ## Nicaragua Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Thousands Protest Nicaragua Canal Project Over Land-Grab Fears  by [Charlie Campbell](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Dec 11, 2014 4:30 AM CUT  Demonstrators hold a banner during a march to protest against the construction of the Interoceanic Grand Canal on Dec. 10, 2014, in Managua, Nicaragua Demonstrators hold a banner during a march to protest against the construction of the Interoceanic Grand Canal on Dec. 10, 2014, in Managua, NicaraguaOswaldo Rivas—Reuters  by [Charlie Campbell](/author/charlie-campbell/)  ## Charlie Campbell Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Editor at Large Dec 11, 2014 4:30 AM CUT Thousands of flag-waving demonstrators [marched](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f16272f195fd4184bf836fa91172308f/marchers-protest-canal-project-nicaragua "undefined") through the Nicaraguan capital Managua on Wednesday to protest a $50 billion canal project set to link the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans as a direct rival to the iconic Panama Canal. Officials vow the 173-mile construction will have minimal impact on the environment and bring more than 50,000 jobs, but local people fear that entire villages will have to be forcibly displaced as a consequence, reports the Associated Press. “Your lands belong to you,” Vilma Núñez, president of the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, told the crowd. Protesters marched to the city’s U.N. offices to demand transparency and adequate compensation for those displaced. Groundbreaking is slated for Dec. 22. \[[_AP_](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/f16272f195fd4184bf836fa91172308f/marchers-protest-canal-project-nicaragua "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3629455/nicaragua-canal-protests/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3629455/nicaragua-canal-protests/"},"headline":"Thousands Protest Nicaragua Canal Project Over Land-Grab Fears","datePublished":"2014-12-11T04:30:20.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T02:45:46.923Z","description":"Entire villages will have to be moved for the new waterway","url":"https://time.com/3629455/nicaragua-canal-protests/","keywords":["Nicaragua","Panama","Pacific","central america"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9014390f08076f85/69876e2f2dce011fec9dc604/rtr4hirn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Charlie Campbell","jobTitle":"Editor at Large","url":"https://time.com/author/charlie-campbell/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9014390f08076f85/69876e2f2dce011fec9dc604/rtr4hirn.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Demonstrators hold a banner during a march to protest against the construction of the Interoceanic Grand Canal in Managua","caption":"Demonstrators hold a banner during a march to protest against the construction of the Interoceanic Grand Canal in Managua","creditText":"Oswaldo Rivas—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/nicaragua/","name":"Nicaragua"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3629455/nicaragua-canal-protests/","name":"Thousands Protest Nicaragua Canal Project Over Land-Grab Fears"}}]}] ```