Some People Never Learn

Daniel Ortega says he is a changed man. Those must have been SOME changes.

MANAGUA, Nov 7, 2006 (AFP) - Former Nicaraguan revolutionary leader Daniel Ortega overcame stiff US opposition to recapture the country's presidency that he lost in 1990, partial election results indicated late Monday. The once iconic Sandinista Cold War foe of Washington, now 60, was endorsed by virulently anti-US Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez but fiercely opposed by US officials.

Of course, Jimmy Carter was there to shake his hand. Apparently, some facts about Ortega have slipped through the cracks in the last few decades. In 1967, he became a leader in the FSLN, in charge of the urban guerrilla campaign (terrorism), but shortly after that he was arrested for bank robbery. He remained in prison until 1974, when he was released in exchange for hostages held by the FSLN. He immediately visited Cuba, a major source of aid for the Sandinistas, and returned to his role as guerrilla commander. In Ortega’s last days as president, through a series of legislative acts known as “The Piñata,” estates that had been seized by the Sandinista government (some valued at millions and even billions of dollars) became the private property of various FSLN officials, including Ortega himself. It is also alleged that Ortega appropriated national bank funds for his personal account. In reference to these allegations, critics often call Ortega “El Piñatin”. His stepdaughter, Zoilamérica Narváez, made public allegations that he sexually abused her in 1998. As a member of the National Assembly, Ortega claimed parliamentary immunity from prosecution at a court hearing on June 28, 1998.

Are the people of Nicaragua going to have to fight another civil war to get this guy out of office again?