Nicaragua Ex-President Gets 20 Years

[arcos]

Nicaragua Ex-President Gets 20 Years

A federal judge sentenced former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman to 20 years in prison Sunday on corruption and money laundering charges.

Aleman was accused of illegally diverting some $100 million in government funds to his party's election campaigns during his tenure in office, which ended in January 2002.

Handing down the sentence Sunday, judge Juana Mendez cited crimes of fraud, misappropriation of public funds, embezzlement, criminal association and electoral violations endangering the state.

Mendez also stripped Aleman of his ability to serve in congress and imposed a fine of $10 million.

<snip>

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20031207_1346.html

[JanMichael]

1. Heh. Wasn't he one that we pushed to get elected over Ortega?

Jolly good work there. One more Capitalist fuck get to rob the People. At least this asshole may go to jail.

Oh! This is rich:

"The U.S. State Department called the decision "a politically manipulated decision" and said that the Nicaraguan judicial system was "widely recognized as corrupt and politicized."

The Nicaraguan Supreme Court warned the United States to stay out of its business. The United States then suspended assistance to Nicaragua's judiciary."

Fuck us.

[arcos]

2. Actually they are right...

the "politically manipulated decision" they are talking about is the release of Alemán from jail. This was purely political... in fact, there was wild speculation of a new pact between Aleman and Ortega that would guarantee his release from prison and have all the charges dropped.

I am frankly surprised he was convicted. I just hope he serves his time.

[JanMichael]

3. Thanks. My reading comprehension just hit a new low.

I agree with you though. I truly hope he spends his last days in prison, not Miami.

[Judi Lynn]

4. Here's a new article for those of us who are having to learn

what we were not taught about Latin America in school for ourselves!

Better goddamned late than never!

(snip)
Last Updated: Thursday, 10 July, 2003, 15:14 GMT 16:14 UK

Country profile: Nicaragua

Never rich in the first place, Nicaragua is struggling to overcome the consequences of dictatorship, civil war and natural calamities, which have made it one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.
Lacking substantial mineral resources, Nicaragua has traditionally relied on agricultural exports to sustain its economy. But these benefited mainly a few elite families of Spanish descent, primarily the Somoza family, which ruled the country with US backing between 1937 and the Sandinista revolution in 1979.

OVERVIEW



OVERVIEW | FACTS | LEADERS | MEDIA

by 33.5% from its 1980 level, its infrastructure was in tatters and its modest tourism industry had all but collapsed. (snip/...)
The Sandinistas began redistributing property and made huge progress in the spheres of health and education. They won a decisive victory in 1984 elections, but their leftist orientation also attracted US hostility and drove them to turn to the USSR and Cuba.

This set the scene for a US-sponsored counter-revolution, which saw Washington arm and finance thousands of rebels, or Contras, in order to carry out attacks on Nicaragua from bases in Honduras. The US also imposed trade sanctions and mined Nicaraguan harbours.

By 1990, when the Sandinistas were defeated in elections held as part of a peace agreement, Nicaragua's per capita income had fallen by 33.5% from its 1980 level, its infrastructure was in tatters and its modest tourism industry had all but collapsed.


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/country_profiles/1225218.stm