Nicaragua’s Navy has seized more than two tons of cocaine in an operation along the Caribbean coast, the latest indication of the increased prominence of Central American land and sea routes in cocaine trafficking.
According to Navy captain Blass Hernandez, the cocaine, transported by four suspects, was coming from Colombia. The raid took place in Punta de Aguila, about 35 miles south of Nicaragua’s main Caribbean port, Bluefields. The suspects arrested are presumed to be Colombian.
This latest seizure is equivalent to about half of the total cocaine that Nicaraguan authorities seized during 2011.
InSight Crime Analysis
The raid is the latest sign that South American cocaine producers are relying increasingly on Central America as a transit point for drugs headed north. As Nicaragua’s Navy seized 4.7 tons of cocaine in 2011, a precipitous drop from 2010, this seizure may indicate that that either maritime enforcement is picking back up or that cocaine trafficking through the region is continuing to rise.
InSight Crime has reported on the relative calm in Nicaragua even as security conditions deteriorate for its Central American neighbors. But this latest big cocaine seizure is a reminder that Nicaragua is not completely immune to the international drug trade.