HomeNewsBriefRise in Violence in North Nicaragua 'Linked to Organized Crime'
BRIEF

Rise in Violence in North Nicaragua 'Linked to Organized Crime'

HOMICIDES / 31 JUL 2013 BY MARGUERITE CAWLEY EN

Experts have attributed a recent increase in violence Nicaragua's semi-autonomous northeast region to the presence of organized crime and arms trafficking, something likely related to the area's status as a stop off on drug trafficking routes.

The director of the Violence Prevention Center (CEPREV), Monica Zalaquett, said organized crime and arms trafficking are two factors that may have contributed to a recent rise in homicides in Nicaragua's North Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAN), reported La Prensa

At least 16 homicides have occurred in the region since July 15, among them a triple homicide in which three men were shot to death during a gold sale, reported El Imparcial, and National Police Chief Aminta Granera said on July 29 that crime levels had gone up this month in the region.

According to Zalaquett, many homicides in the region are carried out with firearms, and as a result of both legal and illegal arms circulation, firearms have largely replaced the use of machetes by local gangs.

Independent specialist Roberto Orozco said that both armed groups with political ends and drug trafficking structures contribute to regional insecurity. However, both the police and the army have denied the existence of armed groups with political aims in Nicaragua.

InSight Crime Analysis

Nicaragua's RAAN and the South Atlantic Autonomous Region (RAAS) are together responsible for much of the country's violent crime. Though the RAAN homicide rate is significantly lower than that of the RAAS, at 18 per 100,000 compared to 42.7 per 100,000 in 2011, it is still significantly higher than the country's overall homicide rate, which had dropped to 11 per 100,000 as of May this year.

Local criminal groups in both the RAAN and RAAS regions take advantage of go-fast boats of drug shipments moving up the Caribbean coastline. These groups provide a variety of services to the traffickers, including refueling, maintenance, harboring and intelligence. Some locals have also gotten rich off chance finds of cocaine that wash up on the beach in the RAAN's Sandy Bay.

SEE ALSO: Nicaragua: A Paradise Lost? 

Though organized crime has not until now often been the direct cause of violence in the RAAN, it contributes indirectly, with drug boat stopovers leading to local drug disputes and rising drug consumption. If arms trafficking is also a rising phenomenon in the region, this may well further fuel violent crime as weapons become more accessible.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

BARRIO 18 / 28 MAR 2022

A killing spree unlike anything seen since El Salvador’s civil war has delivered a macabre message from the country’s street…

ARMS TRAFFICKING / 21 SEP 2022

Trinidad and Tobago's homicide rate has past 400 for the year and authorities appear unable to stop it.

COLOMBIA / 29 MAR 2022

A record cocaine seizure off the coast of Colombia’s San Andres is the latest in a string of million-dollar drug…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…