Topic: 2025-Combating Transnational Organized Crime
Country: Nicaragua
Delegate Name: Monica Kovacs
Transnational crime organizations are prevalent in Nicaragua, as the country is a key transshipment point for both the drug trafficking and human trafficking markets of Central America. Several criminal drug gangs have footholds in Nicaragua including Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel and Los Tarzanes, powerful cocaine transport organizations. Human sex trafficking and labor trafficking also poses a significant threat in Nicaragua, due to Nicaragua’s porous borders and corruption among border control officers, with Nicaragua scoring 7.00 out of 10.00 for human trafficking on the Organized Crime Index. Clearly, transnational crime is a pertinent issue Nicaragua has been attempting to resolve.
The Nicaraguan government has shown their commitment to combating transnational crime organizations through their establishment of the Nicaragua Presidential Council against organized crime in May 2024, an improvement from the previous National Council against Organized Crime (CNCCO) established in 2010. The council identifies and evaluates the nation’s risks related to organized crime, drug trafficking, money laundering, and terrorism, as well as coordinating the development of public policies and strategies. Within the council falls Nicaragua’s National Police (PN), Nicaragua’s authority on seizing and arresting criminal drug organizations. In addition, INTERPOL’s National Central Bureau (NCB) in Managua assists cross-border crime organization investigations, helping the National Police detect and investigate the flow of illicit goods along trafficking routes. Previously, Nicaragua’s robust efforts in tackling drugs and crime have been commemorated by the UNODC in 2014, the UNODC’s Executive Director at the time expressing the UNODC’s support for the Nicaraguan Government’s fight.
In addition, Nicaragua is dedicated to addressing human sex trafficking and labor trafficking, as Nicaragua was previously part of the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons as well as the International Labour Organization Convention 105 on the Abolition of Forced Labor. Furthermore, Nicaragua has established the Law against Trafficking in Persons of 2015, formally criminalizing sex trafficking and labor trafficking, and in 2022 committed to the National Strategic Plan for the Prevention, Attention, Investigation, Prosecution and Punishment of the Crime of Human Trafficking 2023-2027, which detailed the allocation of funds for specialized services to attend victims of human trafficking.
Nicaragua is a significant source and transit country of human smuggling, as part of an international route used by irregular migrants on their way to the United States from Cuba, Haiti, Guatemala and even Africa and Asia. The danger of migrant trafficking rings throughout Central America was revealed after a 2023 migrant boat disaster, involving the migrant trafficking ring “La Agencia,” where 40 individuals disappeared while attempting to reach Nicaragua from Colombia, as part of their journey north through Central America and Mexico to Texas.
Immediate action is essential in addressing the issues posed by transnational crime organizations. Nations must stand together in strengthening border security. Reinforcing border security and prosecution legislation, such as Nicaragua’s reform to their Penal Code in August 2024 which established provisions to prosecute Nicaraguans and foreigners outside the country for crimes including drug trafficking and human trafficking, will ensure that criminal organization leaders are accurately and effectively convicted. Second, region-based joint border surveillance operations, utilizing technological advancements and monitored by a UNODC subcommittee, will ensure unity and transparency in apprehending these criminal organizations.
Works Cited:
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https://dppa.un.org/en/elections
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https://ofac.treasury.gov/sanctions-programs-and-country-information/nicaragua-related-sanctions
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https://www.policia.gob.ni/?p=58631
