After Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega’s brutal repression of youth protests that left at least 46 dead, even his fellow former leftist guerrilla leaders — including his own brother — say that his authoritarian regime is unsustainable.
And I heard it from Ortega’s brother himself during my lengthy telephone interview with retired Gen. Humberto Ortega, a historic commander of the 1978 Sandinista revolution against rightist dictator Anastasio Somoza — and the Nicaraguan president’s younger brother.
Humberto Ortega was the founder of the Sandinista People’s Army after the Sandinistas took power in 1979. He was their top military strategist, served as defense minister and led the Sandinista military in the war against the U.S.-backed contra rebels in the 1980s.
