3,500 cannabis plants burned in Caño Negro, Wiwilí; caretaker held
On 16 September 2023 Nicaragua's army seized and burned 3,500 marijuana plants sown among maize in Caño Negro, Wiwilí, Jinotega, and detained Cristian de Jesús Poveda Tinoco, 33, who it said tended the plot, handing him to the authorities for prosecution.
On 16 September 2023 soldiers of Nicaragua’s 6th Regional Military Command
seized and burned 3,500 marijuana plants in the community of Caño Negro, Wiwilí
municipality, Jinotega department.[1]The army said the plants were 1.5 metres
tall and had been sown among a maize crop.[1]During the operation troops
detained Nicaraguan citizen Cristian de Jesús Poveda Tinoco, 33, whom the army
described as the person who cared for and maintained the plantation.[1]
The army said the detainee was handed over to the corresponding authorities.[1]
The operation was carried out under the state strategy “Muro de Contención”
(Containment Wall), the government’s anti-drug campaign.[1]The army said the
protective measures ordered by the Health Ministry (MINSA) against COVID-19 were
followed during the seizure and burning.[1]The army information note was
dated 19 September 2023 at the headquarters of the 6th Regional Military
Command, three days after the operation.[1]
Photos and video
One of the army photographs published with information note 068/2023 showing the Caño Negro marijuana seizure.Photo details
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Source: El 19 Digital (Ejército de Nicaragua)Second army photograph from note 068/2023 on the seizure and burning of the Caño Negro plants.Photo details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Plants destroyed
3,500
Agency type
Military
Cannabis
Herbal cannabis; Living plants (3,500 plants)
Activity
Cultivation
Setting
Field
Grown
Outdoor
Case stage
Under investigation
Sources
El 19 Digitalel19digital.comESEjército de Nicaragua realizó incautación e incineración de 3,500 plantas de marihuana
Open questions the AI reported
No figure for the weight of the plants or the area of the plot was published, only the count of 3,500 plants.
No court outcome was reported for Cristian de Jesús Poveda Tinoco after he was handed over to the authorities; TN8 said he was sent to Jinotega for prosecution.
The three accounts all reproduce the same army information note 068/2023; no reporting independent of the army's version was found.
El 19 Digital displayed the note on 19 September 2023 without a separate publication line, and the note itself is dated 19 September, while Canal 4 and TN8 published on 20 September.
The army photographs carried by El 19 Digital are captioned only "DROGA" and the outlet credits its main picture to "Cortesía"; the still images cannot confirm exactly where each was taken.
A coordinated army operation that burned 12,000 marijuana plants in Jinotega at the start of September 2023 is a different event and is left out of this report.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Canal 4 Nicaragua: Canal 4 said soldiers of the 6th Regional Military Command seized about 3,500 plants of roughly 1.5 metres each in Caño Negro, Jinotega.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in TN8: TN8, quoting the army note, reported that the plants were camouflaged inside a maize field.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in TN8: TN8 reported that Poveda Tinoco was handed over to the authorities in Jinotega for prosecution.
Nicaraguan Army troops detained a 22-year-old passenger on the Rio Coco in Ayapal, Jinotega, during a river control operation. They seized five bags of marijuana weighing 1,975.3 grams from a plastic bucket he carried.
On 27 October 2026, Nicaraguan police at El Guasaule found 608 packages with 1,907 kg of cannabis hidden in a Mexico-to-Costa Rica truck. They arrested Guatemalan driver Fredy Bladimiro Recinos Vargas, 52, and seized the tractor and trailer.
On 20 August 2025 Nicaragua’s army seized and burned 6,250 marijuana plants in La Campana, Wamblán, Wiwilí, Jinotega, and detained Bismark Antonio Díaz González, 32, who it said tended the plot, handing him to the authorities.
Nicaragua's army seized and burned 8,000 two-metre marijuana plants sown among maize in Pauniwás, Wiwilí, Jinotega, on 6 September 2023, detaining two men who it said tended the plot. Both were handed to the authorities for prosecution.
