The case of the Great Tuna Chase and Massacre sees Ecuador claiming that the United States is violating its 200-mile territorial sea. From the beginning, Ecuador accepted the customary three-mile limit as the demarcation of its territorial waters. However, after 130 years, Juan Valdez came to power in 1952. Under his regime, he declared that the three-mile border should never be considered a fixed and unalterable border and that the historical practices and natural features of the area justified a 200 mile territorial sea. Every Ecuadorian president since Valdez has said the same. According to the 1982 UN treaty, a state's territorial sea extends twelve nautical miles from its national coast (Slomanson 305). Within this area, Ecuador exercises its sovereignty over these waters as if it were a landmass (Slomanson 305). All aspects of the sea are under its control, including the seabed and airspace. Furthermore, Ecuador can impose laws that regulate the territory and consume the resources found within this delimited area. Within this territorial sea, Ecuador “must exercise its sovereign power in this adjacent strip of water” (Slomanson 305). Additionally, Ecuador should map this water and provide warnings about risks to navigation (Slomanson 305). However, Ecuador did not act accordingly and was “lax in enforcing it.” In 1951, the International Court of Justice made this statement in response to a ruling: “To every State whose land territory is anywhere bordered by the sea, international law attributes a corresponding portion of maritime territory consisting of what the law calls territorial waters. ... No maritime state can refuse them. International law imposes on a… medium of paper… laws regulating the activities of foreign states in its EEZ. Ecuador's blatant violation demonstrates its lack of respect for UN law. Donald Thomas was simply conducting his business to preserve his quality of life and his rights were violated. Letting this case remain unsolved puts the livelihoods of many other fishermen at risk. A ruling in favor of Ecuador would set a precedent that would have far-reaching consequences: exclusive economic zones are territorial waters. As a result, states in their territorial waters would be granted rights that were not provided for in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. The violence exhibited by the Ecuadorian navy shows a lack of restraint parallel to the actions of rogue nations. The United States continues to insist that Ecuador has not met usual international standards in handling this situation.