Nicaragua’s Ortega Arrives in Moscow
President Daniel Ortega of Nicaragua arrived Sunday in the Soviet Union, the key stop on a nine-nation tour of Communist nations during which he is expected to seek $200 million to supplement Soviet military aid.
Ortega’s trip was announced last week after the U.S. House of Representatives rejected President Reagan’s request for $14 million in aid to the anti-Sandinista rebels, known as contras . Senate Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) said Saturday that Ortega’s visit to Moscow indicates Congress made “a major misjudgment.”
Since the rejection of its contra aid request, the Reagan Administration is reportedly considering economic sanctions against Nicaragua. The United States is Nicaragua’s largest export market.
U.S. officials have said the Soviets have provided Nicaragua with millions of dollars worth of military aid. Oil industry and diplomatic sources in Central America have said the Soviets supply much of Nicaragua’s oil.
The Cuban news agency Prensa Latina said Ortega met President Fidel Castro of Cuba during a Friday stopover in Havana. The agency said late Saturday that Ortega and Castro condemned U.S. policy in Central America, but the dispatch made no mention of aid.
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