This is some of the most distressing news I've heard in a long long time. Remember Daniel Ortega and the Sandinistas? Iran-Contra? We worked hard to liberate the Nicaraguans from this menace. But, who supported the Communists? Yep! The Democrats. Who fought against them? Ronald Reagan. Who wants power back in Congress? The Democrats. The implications of this are huge. Pay attention.
By Kieran Murray and Catherine Bremer
Sandinista Front leader and presidential candidate Daniel Ortega speaks to the media as he arrives with his wife Rosario Murillo to vote at a Managua polling station in his country's general elections, November 5, 2006.MANAGUA, Nicaragua (Reuters) - Former Marxist revolutionary and U.S. Cold War enemy Daniel Ortega headed back toward power on Monday in Nicaragua's presidential election 16 years after voters threw him out to end a war against U.S.-trained rebels.
With returns in from 40 percent of polling stations in Sunday's election, the 60-year-old Ortega had just above the 40 percent of votes that would seal a first-round win.
Two quick counts by respected observer groups also gave Ortega a big enough lead to win without facing a runoff.
"We have to leave behind all the serious problems our country has suffered in the past, and move forward," said Ortega's vice presidential running mate Jaime Morales, a former Contra leader who joined his old enemy's camp early this year.
Ortega led the Sandinista revolution that toppled U.S.-backed dictator Anastasio Somoza in 1979 and then allied Nicaragua with the Soviet Union as much of Central America became a Cold War battleground.
When asked in Washington on Monday about the possibility that Ortega has had a change of heart, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice appeared skeptical. "We'll see," she said. Continued...
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