Nicaragua Tries Drug Cartel Suspects
The trial against more than 20 suspected members of the Mexican Sinaloa drug cartel will begin on Wednesday in Managua, amid strong security measures.

Most of the accused were arrested in mid April, in different police operations.

The Fenix operation started on April 13 with the arrest of five Mexican citizens, who were traveling on the Panamericana highway in a car with Nicaraguan plates.

After a brief shooting and an attempt to bribe the agents, the five men were held in custody.

The following day, joint police and army forces raided several premises in different points of the country, including a 42-mile farm in Managua, where a secret runway had been built.

Police and army agents found firearms, radios, lamps, and other military supplies, and arrested another Mexican citizen, who has the word Sinaloa tattooed on his back, the authorities reported then.

Although no drugs were found, the Attorney General s Office and the Police consider there is enough evidence to accuse the detainees of a conspiracy for drug trafficking.