MANAGUA—Nicaraguan police have seized almost $1 million in suspected drug money stashed in cardboard boxes on a private jet traveling from Mexico, authorities said on Friday.
Police arrested the plane's 34-year-old Mexican pilot, who they said had a history of drug trafficking, after it landed in the capital's airport on Thursday night following a stopover in Guatemala.
Much of the cocaine traveling from South America to the United States passes through Central America, which is increasingly attracting the attention of Mexican drug cartels seeking to expand their power base and control over smuggling routes.
Nicaragua launched a crackdown on Mexico's Sinaloa cartel in April, arresting 17 people and uncovering a secret landing strip.
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