Two citizens from Honduras and two from El Salvador were captured by the Nicaraguan Army accused of illegally fishing in Nicaraguan waters of the Pacific Ocean, the military institution reported this Saturday.
The capture of the Hondurans Jorge Luis Sánchez Castellano, 36, and Ronald Omar Núñez Alvarado, 33, as well as the Salvadorans Alfredo Cruz Fuentes, 42, and Jesús Ramos Campos, 34, occurred on Friday in front of Punta San José, in the municipality of El Viejo, in northwestern Nicaragua, according to the Nicaraguan Armed Forces.
Although the Hondurans were traveling on a Nicaraguan-flagged vessel, they did not demonstrate to the Pacific Naval District that their presence in this country was legal, nor did they comply with the established rules for sailing, the authorities indicated.
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“The crew members did not present the corresponding documentation, they did not carry life jackets and means established by law, violating the safety measures for human life at sea,” explained the Nicaraguan Army.
The military authorities reported that the detainees were “turned over to the corresponding authorities.”
The capture of Honduran and Salvadoran sailors in the waters of the Nicaraguan Pacific occurs with some frequency due to the proximity to their countries of origin, since the three nations share the Gulf of Fonseca.
Most of those captured at sea are artisanal fishermen, although Nicaragua has also reported cases of drug trafficking or illicit money.
