Nicaragua Fracas over Drug Pardons
The Nicaraguan National Police Anti-Drug Office criticized the Judicial Power on Thursday for apparent corruption because of successive pardons to notorious drug-traffickers.

Commissioner Clarece Silva said he regretted the impunity some drug-traffickers have, who leave the country after they are released even when they have been caught by specialized agents.

Silva said this is a dangerous trend that might soon result in the murder of police, as is already happening in some regions of Guatemala and El Salvador.

Guatemalan drug lord Manuel Gonzalez left Nicaraguan national territory after a Managua Appeals Court annulled his trial for transporting 163 kg. of cocaine.

"These pardons can mar the image of the security this country can offer and the work of the National Police," Silva said on local radio.

This scandal has provoked the Supreme Court to begin an investigation of magistrates and judges in several departments.