Colombian ambassador to Nicaragua faces trial for drug trafficking:

León Fredy Muñoz, Colombia's current ambassador to Nicaragua, was charged with drug trafficking by his country's prosecutor on Tuesday. He is accused of transporting 346 grams of cocaine on a domestic flight in 2018.

On May 31, 2018, police at Medellín airport (northwestern Colombia) found a bag containing 146 grams of “a substance derived from cocaine” in Muñoz's luggage, prosecutor Marlenne Orjuela Rodríguez said during a virtual hearing before the Supreme Court.

In January 2020, investigators found another 200 grams of cocaine in the suitcase, according to court documents. Prosecutors demanded a prison sentence of 9 to 11 years for the diplomat for the crime of drug trafficking.

At the time of his arrest, Muñoz was an elected congressman for the Green Party. He claims the drugs were planted in his pocket by a rival political group.

The Supreme Court, which took on the case because of Muñoz's status as a “senior official,” will announce its ruling at a subsequent hearing. The accusation comes at a tense moment in diplomatic relations between Colombia and Nicaragua.

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega recently criticized Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, accusing them of being “dragged in” by the European Union and the United States for not recognizing the results of the recent elections in Venezuela.

In response, Petro stated on social media, “At least I am not violating the human rights of the people of my country.” León Fredy Muñoz was released shortly after his arrest and later took office as a member of the House of Representatives for the 2018-2022 term. After Petro came to power, Muñoz was appointed ambassador to Nicaragua in September 2022.

During the hearing on Tuesday, the ambassador reiterated that he “didn’t even know what cocaine was.”

In July 2023, Muñoz was summoned by the Colombian Foreign Ministry after actively participating in a march in support of President Daniel Ortega while both countries awaited a decision by the International Court of Justice in The Hague regarding the maritime space of the Colombian islands of San Andrés and Providencia. The court ruled in favor of Colombia.