More like thug opportunists. If you live in abject poverty and the main construction you're seeing in your small country are immaculate factories and plantations popping up.. that's gonna attract attention. A tobacco factory that gets overtaken by a gang in Nicaragua isn't gonna exactly make any headlines here.
We get all the Mexican cartels news here.. especially now with out of control fentanyl. General Cigar, and others, have had to hire out-of-country security for certain properties of their's. One thing is for sure about New World cigars.. their Western owners will put the required cash into protecting their operations.
All of us will simply pay for it as those costs are passed on. I haven't been back to Esteli since before covid. There's not an official travel ban there.. but there are travel warnings.. especially if you book your out-of-country travels through a good agency or organization.
I do almost all my travels through Amex.. and have been advised that Nicaragua and Honduras are not "travel recommended". While we all know about the huge issues at our own borders.. those are NOT all Mexican Nationals trying to get in.
In fact, every border crossing season now is less and less Mexican Nationals and more and more Central American Nationals. I said maybe a few weeks ago to expect a lot more cigars from countries like Paraguay.. which is far away from Central America.. it's even below Brazil, another country expanding more into tobacco production.
It's almost like tobacco whack-a-mole. Things get too bad in one place.. just move to another!
