Nicaragua's Navy reported that it has seized 4.7 tons of cocaine so far in 2011.
Rear Admiral Roger Gonzalez Diaz announced the figures at a ceremony to award prizes to members of the navy. He said that the force had also confiscated 279 kilos of marijuana, and captured 29 suspected traffickers, of various nationalities.
The figure of 4.7 tons marks a big drop from last year, when, according to the U.S. State Department, some 13.6 tons of cocaine was seized at sea, presumably by the navy. The country's security forces confiscated 17.5 tons in total that year.
As InSight Crime has noted, the country's navy has been described by the U.S. as one of its best partners in the war on drugs despite the anti-U.S. rhetoric of Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega,
The navy is a key player in Nicaragua's anti-drug operations, as cocaine is most frequently shipped through the country's sea routes, rather than overland or by air.
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