The Nicaraguan army on Wednesday denied that weapons from its arsenal were smuggled into Colombia by an international arms trafficking gang, which was recently dismantled by Colombian authorities.
General Julio Cesar Aviles, the head of Nicaragua’s Armed Forces, told journalists that it “can be assured that the inventories of the Nicaraguan army are secured and safe. The material [arms] that is spoken of is not of Nicaraguan origin,” reports the EPA.
Speaking of the arms smuggled into Colombia, Aviles went on to say that, “The information says that the arms are made in other countries, and are not of our own material.”
Nicaragua’s comments follow Tuesday’s announcement that Colombia’s intelligence service DAS busted an international group smuggling arms from Central America to gangs in Colombia.
DAS investigators say that the international arms smuggling ring brought weapons such as rockets, rifles and machine guns to Colombia to sell to criminal gangs, such as the paramilitary group “Los Rastrojos.”
According to DAS, the arms were being trafficked from Central American countries to the Colombian island of San Andres, where they were later smuggled to mainland Colombia via plane and “go-fast” speed boats.