US fearful as Ortega tipped to wrest back Nicaraguan presidential power
With returns in from almost 15% of polling stations in Sunday’s election, the 60-year-old Ortega had just above the 40% mark that would seal a first-round win and give him back the presidency 16 years after he was voted out at the end of a brutal civil war against US-backed Contra rebels.
If confirmed, it would be an embarrassing blow to the US, which fears the leftist would join an anti-US bloc in Latin America and warned of a cut in aid to Nicaragua under Ortega.
