Nicaragua Cigarmakers Cancel Puro Sabor 2019 Festival

Nicaragua’s annual Puro Sabor cigar festival has been canceled until further notice. In a letter obtained by Cigar Aficionado, the Nicaraguan Chamber of Tobacco—which has held the celebration of its nation’s cigars and culture for the past seven years—says it is delaying the event “for reasons beyond our control.”
The festival was supposed to take place in January 2019.
“New dates for the festival will be announced in due time,” said the letter. The organization says it will instead hold a special event on January 26, 2019 in Miami, Florida, with the manufacturing partners of Puro Sabor.
While the Chamber of Tobacco was not specific regarding the cause of the cancelation, it is presumably because of the ongoing civil unrest taking place in Nicaragua.
The U.S. Department of State maintains its Level 3 travel advisory for Nicaragua (Level 4 is the highest), which it issued in April, discouraging travel to Nicaragua and urging U.S. citizens to vacate the country.