Word: managua
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...journalists and spectators jammed the small, steamy courtroom in Managua last week, the trial of Eugene Hasenfus began. Escorted by six guards, the jeans-clad ex-Marine glumly made his way to a seat before the People's Tribunal. For the next 80 minutes, Tribunal President Reynaldo Monterrey read the list of charges: terrorism, violation of public security, conspiracy to commit illicit acts. As Monterrey droned on, it became clear that more was at stake than the fate of Hasenfus, who was captured ferrying weapons to U.S.-backed contra rebels after Sandinista troops shot down an American ! Fairchild C-123K...
...military showdown, however, was overshadowed last week by a propaganda battle between Managua and Washington as both sides sought to score points off the Hasenfus trial. Nicaraguan officials, including President Daniel Ortega, have indicated that Hasenfus will be found guilty, then released as early as Thanksgiving. "It's a chance to show Americans how kindhearted they are," scoffed Antonio Tijerino, a Washington-based attorney for the contras. U.S. officials, meanwhile, branded the tribunal a kangaroo court. Since it was established in 1983, the court, perhaps unsurprisingly, has had a 99% conviction rate. Each panel consists of a lawyer who serves...
...Washington worked on these plans, Eugene Hasenfus awaited his fate, which may be decided as early as this week. "I don't believe we hired ourselves for patriotic reasons," he said last week in Tipitapa, a town outside Managua where he has been imprisoned. "It was done for the dollar mainly." Would he do it again? "If somebody asked me to, I'd ask him if he had all his marbles." Does he feel he is paying for the "sins" of the U.S. ? "Amen. Amen." Surprisingly, many of the Nicaraguans who lingered outside the courtroom seemed sympathetic toward the hapless...
...ARRIVED in Managua way ahead of schedule and in no time had direct contact with powerful members of the government. A journalist's dream, in a sense...
...From Nicaragua, yes; but 10 hours from Managua. This isn't a direct flight. We have to parachute into the jungle and crawl to the city on our bellies...