Managua, April 17 — The dismantling of a drug trafficking gang headquarters, allegedly belonging to the Mexican Sinaloa cartel, is one of the strongest blows ever dealt to international drug trafficking in Nicaragua.
The operation started over the weekend with the arrest of five Mexicans in a car with Nicaraguan licence plates on the Panamerican road. The men were arrested Friday after a brief shooting and attempted bribe.
As part of a three-month long police-army investigation, raids were carried out in different parts of the country, which resulted in the discovery of a 1,640-yard runway in a ranch, 42 miles north of Managua.
They also found firearms, radio communication equipment, lamps and other means, as well as another Mexican, with a tattoo that reads Sinaloa on his back, said authorities.
At least 22 people have been arrested so far, including an alleged assassin hired by the Sinaloa Cartel to kill Chief of Police Aminta Granera.
Several weeks ago, Granera confirmed having received death threats, which she attributed to a drug traffickers’ response to recent the crackdown on crime in the country.
In 2006 authorities seized over 10 tons of cocaine in Nicaragua, a corridor of South American drug bound for the United States.
