Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
Nicaragua is Central America's largest country. It has a long coastline that runs along both the Pacific Ocean and the Caribbean Sea.
That makes it a prime location for the drug trade going from South America north to the U.S.
But unlike many of its neighbors, Nicaragua has taken a different approach to drug violence. And though poverty is still a major issue, it's managed to avoid the high levels of violence in places like Mexico or nearby Honduras.
"One analyst I spoke with said the choice that Nicaragua is taking is the lesser of two evils," said Eyder Peralta of NPR. Instead of fighting "fire with fire," or relying on a strong military response, officials appear to be taking a different approach, he said.
"They can sort of allow it to go through its territory and there's no turf war and that creates a peaceful place," said Peralta, noting that the coastal city Bluefields has a murder rate that's a fraction of cities in nearby countries.
Though some reports indicate that the trade may just be moving elsewhere, the contrast to other countries is noteworthy.
Peralta reported from Nicaragua's Caribbean coast and joins Take Two.
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