Word: astorga
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...Nora Astorga seemed perfectly cast as the Mata Hari of the Sandinista revolution, and she played the game of seduction and betrayal with deadly ease. First, she caught the roving eye of General Reynaldo ("the Dog") Pérez Vega, second ranking officer in Nicaragua's notorious National Guard. Then, one night in March 1978, Astorga lured the smitten general to her home. After sending his bodyguard off to buy rum, she drew Peérez into her bedroom and disarmed him. The general undoubtedly thought he was in for a special night; he was. At that moment, five...
That daring crime earned Astorga, 37, a permanent niche in the Sandinista pantheon of heroes. But it has hardly endeared her to Reagan Administration officials, who must decide in the coming weeks whether to accept the onetime terrorist as Nicaragua's new Ambassador to the U.S. At a time when relations between the two countries are close to breaking because of American support for anti-Sandinista contras, the nomination of Astorga seemed to take Washington by surprise and struck many as a direct challenge to the White House. Said a U.S. State Department representative: "Nicaragua took a real chance...
...American officials, the State Department drafts a biography, evaluates the candidate's credentials and then makes a formal recommendation to the President. If the nominee is acceptable, the U.S. sends an official agreement and the appointment is made public. With some exceptions, consent comes without a hitch. But Astorga's nomination was far from typical and had already attracted too much public attention to be reviewed behind closed doors. One Administration spokesman put it mildly: "It's not the usual problem we have. Generally the candidates are too damned dull...
...Overture, "Astorga," Abert...