Managua is the capital and largest city of [[Nicaragua]]. It was the center of [[Norwin Meneses]]'s pre-revolution drug empire and the site of his 1991 arrest.[^1] ### Pre-Revolution Under the [[Anastasio Somoza|Somoza]] regime, Meneses operated freely in Managua with protection from his brother [[Edmundo Meneses]], who commanded the city's police. Meneses owned discotheques (the Frisco Disco and the VIP Club), drive-in brothels, and a thriving drug business. [[Danilo Blandon|Danilo Blandón]]'s father Julio owned land in Managua where one of the city's worst slums, OPEN #3, was built after the 1972 earthquake. The Blandóns and Somozas were social friends and two of the biggest landlords in the city.[^2] ### Post-Revolution After the [[Sandinistas]] were voted out in 1990, Meneses moved back to his mansion on the outskirts of Managua and began reclaiming $12 million in confiscated holdings. In November 1991, Nicaraguan police raided his drug ring, seizing 725 kilos of [[cocaine]]. Meneses was convicted and sentenced to thirty years, serving his time at Tipitapa Prison outside Managua.[^3] ### Dark Alliance Interviews [[Georg Hodel]] was based in Managua as a freelance journalist and found Meneses's court files in the Nicaraguan Supreme Court, a cache no journalist had previously examined. Hodel and [[Gary Webb]] interviewed Meneses at Tipitapa Prison in January 1996. Webb hired Hodel in Managua to locate and interview key witnesses.[^4] ### Footnotes [^1]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 23: "He had the backing of a superpower" [^2]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 2: "We were the first" [^3]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 23: "He had the backing of a superpower" [^4]: Gary Webb, *Dark Alliance*, Chapter 25: "Things are moving all around us"