The new units will combat drug trafficking, the trafficking of rare timber, youth violence, and domestic violence, according to Granera.

President Daniel Ortega swore in the new directors of these units at an event in the capital city of Managua, on the evening of May 8.

The border patrol will watch over the areas bordering Honduras and Costa Rica, the rural unit will protect harvests and combat criminal gangs in the countryside, and the tourism unit will look after this flourishing sector of the economy, Granera specified.

At the same time, the counterintelligence unit will ensure “that all operations are conducted in the best way” and will seek to prevent officers from becoming involved in illicit activities.

Counterintelligence operations have been the Army’s exclusive preserve, and the new units will reinforce the National Police.

Granera said that the restructuring aims to more effectively confront “the public-safety problems” in the municipalities, primarily due to drug and alcohol use.