Word: nicaragua
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Ortega received cordial but noncommittal welcomes at subsequent stops. In Paris he met with President Francois Mitterrand, after which Spokesman Michel Vauzelle said that France "can develop its commercial exchanges" with Nicaragua. But other officials suggested that France, which already runs a $7 million trade deficit with Nicaragua, was not anxious to increase it. In Rome, Italian Prime Minister Benedetto ("Bettino") Craxi agreed to maintain Italy's current $70 million combination of aid and trade with Managua...
...Ortega's transatlantic tour was useful to Nicaragua largely as a public relations exercise, the struggle on the country's northern border had more concrete significance. The contras, short of supplies after the denial of U.S. covert aid last October, have gradually withdrawn most of their forces to Honduran base camps to await help from a network of private sources (see box). Beginning early this month, Nicaraguan infantry backed by artillery began zeroing in on the main contra camp, known as Las Vegas. Finally an estimated 1,200 Nicaraguan troops launched an unprecedented cross-border assault reaching up to four...
More serious than the shortages may be the flaunting of privilege by Nicaragua's political bureaucracy. Officials drive trim, Soviet-built Lada sedans while private autos frequently lack doors or windshields because spares are not available. In a Managua supermarket, many of its shelves gapingly empty, a shopper complains that he has been unable to find powdered milk for 15 days. As he talks, a woman waits at a check-out counter with, among other things, a can of powdered milk. Says a third customer: "You see, she has connections. With the right connections you don't lack anything...
...some of those without connections, the Sandinista explanation that the U.S. is the cause of everything that goes wrong in Nicaragua is losing credibility. One possible sign of eroding popular support is that the "defense committee" system responsible for neighborhood surveillance and security is breaking down. A Western diplomat estimates that 50% to 60% of the population are what he calls "passively" anti-Sandinista, even if they have not yet drawn political conclusions from the economic squeeze. Says he: "If these people were Poles or U.S. citizens, they would be rioting in the streets. It may be they...
Singlaub also draws on WACL affiliates in 36 countries, particularly those in Taiwan and South Korea. The Taiwan chapter, which is close to the ruling Kuomintang, has raised at least $100,000 so far, mostly from private sources. This is a delicate effort, since Nicaragua is one of the few countries in the world that retains diplomatic relations with Taipei. Contributions also come from Central American nations, Paraguay and Saudi Arabia...