http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-
nica6oct06,1,2843673.story?coll=la-headlines-world
October 6, 2005
U.S. Envoy Pressures Opposition in Nicaragua
# Zoellick sees a 'creeping coup' by Sandinistas and rightists. His
visit brings cries of interference.
>From Times Wire Services
MANAGUA, Nicaragua Deputy Secretary of State Robert B. Zoellick
met a onetime Sandinista loyalist Wednesday as part of an effort to
thwart what Zoellick called a "creeping coup" by leftist Sandinista
leader Daniel Ortega and right-wing former President Arnoldo Aleman.
On a two-day visit to Managua, the State Department's No. 2 official
piled pressure on Sandinista and rightist opposition leaders whom
Washington accuses of undermining President Enrique Bolanos, a U.S.
ally.
That included Wednesday's discussion with former Managua Mayor Herty
Lewites, who is critical of his former leftist allies.
The renewed U.S. interest in Nicaragua, where Washington supported
Contra rebels against Ortega's left-wing government in the 1980s,
angered the opposition.
"As Nicaraguans, as Central Americans and sons of Latin America, we
protest to the world about the U.S. government's unwarranted
interference in the internal affairs of our country," Aleman's
Constitutional Liberal Party said in a statement.
Zoellick this week described an informal alliance between the
Sandinistas and Aleman as a "corrupt pact."
Aleman was sentenced to 20 years in prison in 2003 for a conviction
on fraud and money-laundering charges after leaving office in early
2002.
Prosecutors said he diverted tens of millions of dollars to his own
accounts.
Aleman was recently freed from house arrest on condition that he
stay in the capital.
Ortega is a favorite to win next year's elections, a prospect that
concerns U.S. officials.
Lewites wants to take on Ortega at the polls, but he might struggle
to receive the support from the right that he would need to present
a significant challenge.
Ortega and Aleman's unlikely alliance already controls the judicial
and legislative branches of government.
Bolanos is facing the threat of impeachment for alleged campaign
finance violations.
Saying Nicaragua is threatened by a "creeping coup" and corruption,
Zoellick announced Tuesday that the United States had revoked visas
held by Nicaragua's attorney general and Aleman's two adult children
and might withhold millions of dollars in aid.
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