Daniel Ortega Lashes Out at U.S. Ambassador Paul Trivelli

Ronald Reagan's old Nicaraguan nemesis, former Nicaraguan leader Daniel Ortega, is running for the presidency again. And according to this news article from Nicaragua's La Prensa, Ortega is not at all pleased with comments by America's ambassador, Paul Trivelli, who has made no secret of the fact that Washington would prefer that Ortega not be president again.


Translated By Carly Gatzert

March 27, 2006

Nicaragua - La Prensa - Home Page (Spanish)    



President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua,
on the Cover of Time in March, 1986. (above).
Ortega, the Presidential Candidate Today. (below).




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Former president and Sandinista presidential candidate, Daniel Ortega [RealVideo], lashed out at U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua Paul Trivelli today, accusing him of intervening in Nicaraguan domestic and political affairs. [Ortega is currently running third, according to a poll by a Costa Rican polling company, for the elections which are scheduled for November].

"One needs to have crust, as we say here in Nicaragua, to speak as this man [Trivelli] has spoken" said Ortega.

The top leader of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) referred to Trivelli's frequent statements that the democratic sectors of the country should unite to prevent Ortega's electoral victory.

"Trivelli forgets that he, just like George Bush and Ronald Reagan, hails from ancestors who arrived on North American territory to seize the land," added the political leader. "Trivelli, you and your relatives are thieves, because you stole the land of the native peoples, and not only here, but you also stole land from Mexico and have taken the lives of thousands of Latin Americans as well," Ortega said.

ASSIGNING BLAME TO THE GOVERNMENT

"You are corrupt, you are thieves, you are shameless, [addressing Trivelli and his family]" insisted Ortega, in statements that Managua Radio 580 aired today, without specifying where the opposition leader spoke.

He maintained that if anyone has a right to set foot on North American soil, it is the Latin American citizen, who has indigenous blood ties and common roots, "and its is the North Americans, who are the trespassers, that want to keep Latin Americans out, which is a crime."

Ortega also blamed Enrique Bolanos' government for the Ambassador's statements.



U.S. Ambassador Paul Trivelli, left, and Nicaraguan
Army Chief Omar Halleslevens, at a Ceremony at
Which the U.S. Donated 16 Military Trucks, Medical
Supplies, a Trolley, Camp Houses, Shovels and
Generators, on Monday. (above and below).




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"The government is responsible because it allows this shameless fellow to come here and be disrespectful.  I would like to see a Nicaraguan Ambassador to the United States speak this way.  They would kick him out immediately," he stressed.

Trivelli has frequently attacked the secret 1999 pact between Ortega and former President Arnoldo Aleman, who has been found guilty of corruption charges. This pact manifested itself in constitutional reforms in 2000, to redistribute the powers of the State.

[Editor's Note: The "secret 1999 pact" between Ortega and former President Arnoldo Aleman, to "redistribute the powers of the State," refers to  constitutional reforms, which severely reduced the power of the executive branch and strengthened the legislative branch. will not enter into force until January 2007].

"The pact weakens the judicial system tremendously; it is simply not impartial," Trivelli has stated.

Spanish Version Below

Daniel Ortega arremete contra embajador de Estados Unidos

El ex presidente y candidato presidencial sandinista, Daniel Ortega, arremetió hoy contra el embajador de Estados Unidos en Managua, Paul Trivelli, al que acusó de intervenir en los asuntos políticos internos de Nicaragua.

"Se necesita tener cáscara (no tener vergüenza) ,como decimos los nicaragüenses, para hablar de la forma en que habla este hombre (Trivelli) aquí (en Nicaragua)", dijo Ortega.

El máximo líder del Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN izquierda) con sus términos aludió las frecuentes declaraciones de Trivelli sobre lo conveniente de que se unan los sectores democráticos del país para evitar un triunfo electoral de Ortega.

"Este Trivelli se olvida que tanto él como (George) Bush y (Ronald) Reagan vienen de familias cuyos antepasados llegaron a territorio norteamericano a robarse las tierras", agregó el líder político.

"Son ladrones ustedes Trivelli y todas sus familias, porque le robaron las tierras a los indígenas y no sólo a éstos, sino que también a México y le han robado la vida a miles de latinoamericanos", añadió Ortega.

CULPA AL GOBIERNO

"Son corruptos, son ladrones, son sinvergüenzas Trivelli, eso son ustedes", insistió Ortega en declaraciones que divulgó hoy Radio 580 de Managua, sin precisar desde donde habló el líder opositor.

Sostuvo que si alguien tiene derecho a pisar territorio norteamericano, este es el ciudadano latinoamericano, que tiene sangre indígena y raíces comunes "y ellos los norteamericanos que son los invasores quieren expulsar a los latinoamericanos, lo que es un crimen".

Ortega también responsabilizó al gobierno del presidente Enrique Bolaños por lo que dice el embajador.

"El gobierno es responsable porque permite que este sinvergüenza venga aquí a irrespetar, yo quisiera ver a un embajador de Nicaragua en Estados Unidos hablando así, lo expulsan inmediatamente", enfatizó.

Trivelli con frecuencia también ha atacado el pacto -acuerdo secreto- entre Ortega y el ex presidente y reo Arnoldo Alemán alcanzado en 1999 y plasmado en reformas a la Constitución en el 2000 para repartirse altos cargos en los Poderes del Estado.

"El pacto debilita enormemente el sistema judicial, que simplemente no es imparcial", ha dicho Trivelli.