Humberto Ortega

President-elect Violeta Barrios de Chamorro is expected to announce in her inaugural address today that she will name the Sandinista defense minister, Gen. Humberto Ortega, to a top position in the country's military. The Baltimore Sun, quoting a Sandinista Foreign Ministry official and a senior editor of Chamorro's La Prensa newspaper, said Chamorro will assume the post of defense minister upon becoming president and will name Ortega as chief of staff, the second-highest military position. Gen.

The last time President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro tried to fire Gen. Humberto Ortega, the powerful army chief lashed out publicly at government officials for having "sold out" to pressure from Washington. He refused to budge. Months later, Ortega has finally agreed to step down, having successfully delayed his retirement date by more than a year.

President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro said she hopes to name a replacement next year for Nicaragua's controversial military chief, Gen. Humberto Ortega, a holdover from the years of leftist Sandinista rule. Her announcement appeared to be a reply to pressure from members of the U.S. Congress, her own erstwhile conservative supporters and rearmed Contra rebels. Former Sandinistas who still control the country's security forces reacted with outrage.

President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro said she hopes to name a replacement next year for Nicaragua's controversial military chief, Gen. Humberto Ortega, a holdover from the years of leftist Sandinista rule. Her announcement appeared to be a reply to pressure from members of the U.S. Congress, her own erstwhile conservative supporters and rearmed Contra rebels. Former Sandinistas who still control the country's security forces reacted with outrage.

Gen. Humberto Ortega, former guerrilla leader and current head of Nicaragua's army, may face a court-martial over charges he covered up a killing by his bodyguards, a judge has ruled. Judge Boanerges Ojeda this month handed over to a military judge-advocate the case, which has sparked a political storm in this tiny Central American country. The case alleges that members of Ortega's eight-man bodyguard fatally shot a 16-year-old Nicaraguan, Jean Paul Genie, on Oct.

The last time President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro tried to fire Gen. Humberto Ortega, the powerful army chief lashed out publicly at government officials for having "sold out" to pressure from Washington. He refused to budge. Months later, Ortega has finally agreed to step down, having successfully delayed his retirement date by more than a year.

Jean Paul Genie had no future in the old Nicaragua. Some of his friends had gone to battle and come home crippled. Others had fled to avoid conscription. His parents, fearful for their only child as he neared draft age, made plans to abandon the country. Then last February, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was elected president, ending a decade of Sandinista rule. She abolished military conscription and settled the Contra war. Exiles came back.

Gen. Humberto Ortega, the Sandinista military chief, says he aims to trim Nicaragua's army to about 30,000 to 40,000 troops, less than half its current size, under a mandate from President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. "Our country cannot support a military budget the size it is now," Ortega told reporters late Wednesday at a gala inaugural reception offered by Chamorro after she took power from defeated Sandinista President Daniel Ortega, the general's brother.

The Bush Administration, acting on its own before Congress completes work on a $300-million assistance package, presented the new government of Nicaragua with an inaugural gift Wednesday marking the end of Sandinista rule: emergency medical aid, eligibility for financial credits and loan guarantees, and permission to resume sugar sales to the United States.

President-elect Violeta Barrios de Chamorro joined the defeated Sandinista government Tuesday night in urging the U.S.-backed Contras to disarm immediately and end their eight-year-old rebellion. "The causes of this civil war have disappeared," Chamorro said in her first substantive message since her stunning electoral upset of President Daniel Ortega on Sunday. "There is no reason for more war.

Gen. Humberto Ortega, former guerrilla leader and current head of Nicaragua's army, may face a court-martial over charges he covered up a killing by his bodyguards, a judge has ruled. Judge Boanerges Ojeda this month handed over to a military judge-advocate the case, which has sparked a political storm in this tiny Central American country. The case alleges that members of Ortega's eight-man bodyguard fatally shot a 16-year-old Nicaraguan, Jean Paul Genie, on Oct.

Jean Paul Genie had no future in the old Nicaragua. Some of his friends had gone to battle and come home crippled. Others had fled to avoid conscription. His parents, fearful for their only child as he neared draft age, made plans to abandon the country. Then last February, Violeta Barrios de Chamorro was elected president, ending a decade of Sandinista rule. She abolished military conscription and settled the Contra war. Exiles came back.

Gen. Humberto Ortega, the Sandinista military chief, says he aims to trim Nicaragua's army to about 30,000 to 40,000 troops, less than half its current size, under a mandate from President Violeta Barrios de Chamorro. "Our country cannot support a military budget the size it is now," Ortega told reporters late Wednesday at a gala inaugural reception offered by Chamorro after she took power from defeated Sandinista President Daniel Ortega, the general's brother.

The Bush Administration, acting on its own before Congress completes work on a $300-million assistance package, presented the new government of Nicaragua with an inaugural gift Wednesday marking the end of Sandinista rule: emergency medical aid, eligibility for financial credits and loan guarantees, and permission to resume sugar sales to the United States.

Violeta Barrios de Chamorro, assuming Nicaragua's presidency from a defeated revolutionary government in an unruly ceremony, announced plans Wednesday to demilitarize this war-weary nation and assigned the chief of the Sandinista army to retain his post until the process is complete. The controversial appointment of Gen.

President-elect Violeta Barrios de Chamorro is expected to announce in her inaugural address today that she will name the Sandinista defense minister, Gen. Humberto Ortega, to a top position in the country's military. The Baltimore Sun, quoting a Sandinista Foreign Ministry official and a senior editor of Chamorro's La Prensa newspaper, said Chamorro will assume the post of defense minister upon becoming president and will name Ortega as chief of staff, the second-highest military position. Gen.

The Sandinista government Wednesday dismissed Cardinal Miguel Obando y Bravo as mediator in the Nicaraguan conflict and offered to meet with rebel leaders for cease-fire talks inside the country. President Daniel Ortega made the surprise announcement after an evening visit to the Roman Catholic leader, who had irritated the government by putting political issues on the agenda in four previous negotiating sessions. The shift in government strategy came on the eve of a vote in the U.S.

Shocked, angered and pained by their electoral defeat, thousands of Sandinista militants surrounded a closed-door meeting of their party leadership Tuesday shouting, "We are the army!" and "We've got the guns!" Demonstrators from organizations such as the Sandinista Youth and Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs joined soldiers and officers of the Sandinista Popular Army, raising their fists overhead in a show of support for President Daniel Ortega.

President-elect Violeta Barrios de Chamorro joined the defeated Sandinista government Tuesday night in urging the U.S.-backed Contras to disarm immediately and end their eight-year-old rebellion. "The causes of this civil war have disappeared," Chamorro said in her first substantive message since her stunning electoral upset of President Daniel Ortega on Sunday. "There is no reason for more war.

Shocked, angered and pained by their electoral defeat, thousands of Sandinista militants surrounded a closed-door meeting of their party leadership Tuesday shouting, "We are the army!" and "We've got the guns!" Demonstrators from organizations such as the Sandinista Youth and Mothers of Heroes and Martyrs joined soldiers and officers of the Sandinista Popular Army, raising their fists overhead in a show of support for President Daniel Ortega.