Ortega threatens clampdown

Over the weekend, in celebration of the 29th anniversary of the Sandinista uprising that led to the end of the Somoza dicatorship in Nicaragua, President Daniel Ortega delievered a speech that suggests he is gearing up for a conflict with the growing opposition to his government.

From Reuters:

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega warned his political adversaries on Saturday that he would not allow them to depose him as opposition groups planned street protests against his government. "We love peace, but we are also ready to use the steel of war if they try to bring down this" government, Ortega said in a speech.

From La Prensa:

El Presidente nicaragüense se declaró dispuesto a dar batalla en todos los flancos, en lo que calificó como una defensa del “poder del pueblo.” “Donde nos busquen nuestros enemigos, allí nos van a encontrar, donde nos busquen los vende patria, allí nos van a encontrar, donde nos busquen los traidores, allí nos van a encontrar, donde nos busquen los financiados por la embajada yanqui, allí nos van a encontrar, dispuestos, como decía nuestro gran poeta Rubén Darío, a levantar el acero de guerra o el olivo de la paz”, añadió Ortega.

Ortega's remarks are seen by some as a direct response to the mounting opposition against him and what the opposition claims as a string of recent policies that are unconstitutional and anti-democratic.

Sources: Reuters, La Prensa, AFP