Nicaragua

Nicaragua is a Central American country bordered by Honduras and Costa Rica. Since the mid-1990s, the country has become a major transit point for drug trafficking, especially of Colombian cocaine. Furthermore, the country's recent history is entangled in the drug trade because of the use in the 1980s of drug money to support the Contras—various rebel groups opposed to the left-wing Sandinista government. Drug consumption is not overly rampant in Nicaragua. Marijuana, the most frequently used illegal drug, is used by approximately 1.1 percent of those between the ages of 12 and 65. Cocaine is the next most frequently used illegal drug, used annually by slightly less than 1 percent of those between the ages of 12 to 65.

[Page 582]The Sandinista National Liberation Front is a socialist political party named for Augusto Cesar Sandino, who led the guerrilla resistance against the American occupation of Nicaragua in the 1930s. The Sandinistas successfully seized power in 1979 and ruled until 1990, when they lost the national election. During the 1980s, various rebel groups and guerrilla warriors referred to collectively as “Contras” opposed the Sandinista rule. Fearing the Sandinistas would create a Cuban-type socialist state in Central America that could assist the leftist guerrillas in nearby El Salvador, the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ran the Contra aid program, teaching both civilian sabotage methods and combat training. Over 20 years later, it is clear that many Contra groups were funded with drug-trafficking money. Although some allege the United States was knowledgeable about the source of Contra funding and others allege they were even more significantly involved in drug trafficking, the extent of American involvement is unclear. There is at least some evidence to suggest that the Sandinista government was also involved in the cocaine trade, and may have established some of the trafficking routes used later in the 1990s by drug cartels.

Drug Trafficking

That drug use and trafficking have been on the rise since the Sandinistas lost power may be ascribed in part to the relative stability of the country and the safety of its countryside; during the 1980s, incomes had plummeted and the cost of fighting the Contras had racked up unprecedented amounts of government debt.

Despite being a predominantly agricultural country, Nicaragua is not a significant producer [Page 583]of cocaine, heroin, or marijuana, drugs that are more likely to be smuggled through the country en route to the United States and Canada. The settlements along the Caribbean coast of the country are sparsely populated and suffering from great poverty, leading to little police presence and easy passage for traffickers. The Nicaraguan stretch of the Pan-American Highway is also a popular route for smugglers driving vehicles with hidden compartments—especially inside tractor-trailer trucks.

Nicaraguan Navy sailors board a fishing boat in June 2010 to conduct a search for illicit cargo. The country's Caribbean coast is very close to the routes used by Colombian cocaine smugglers on their way to Mexico.

Nicaragua does not have a well-organized response to narcotics crime, and efforts against trafficking involve a combination of law enforcement (particularly the Nicaraguan National Police) and the military. Political influence and apparent judicial corruption have regularly interfered with the prosecution of traffickers once apprehended.

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