Nicaraguan Leader Compares Reagan Policies to Those of Hitler

Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega said Saturday that U.S. economic sanctions would worsen an already “critical economic situation” in his country and compared President Reagan’s policies to those of Adolf Hitler.

Ortega appeared at a joint news conference here with Spanish Prime Minister Felipe Gonzalez, who was host to Reagan earlier this week. The Spanish leader seemed at pains to disassociate himself from Ortega’s comparison of the United States to Nazi Germany.

“The United States played the leading role in liberating Europe from Nazism and fascism,” Gonzalez said, “and I am sure it would do so again.”

Ortega, who visited a Nazi concentration camp two days ago in Poland, said the graves there reminded him that “Reagan has killed 150 children” through the actions of U.S.-funded rebels in Nicaragua, “and wants to convert Nicaragua into a concentration camp.”

“To say that he is emulating what Hitler did is no exaggeration,” said Ortega, who began a tour of the Soviet Bloc tour April 28 in Moscow, where he received promises of more aid.

After three days in Spain, Ortega will travel to France, Italy, Sweden and Finland.

Ortega’s Western European swing was tacked on hastily to the 14-day Soviet Bloc tour following Western criticism of the timing of his departure for Moscow. The trip came within days of a congressional vote blocking a White House-requested resumption of aid to the rebels and helped contribute to the Administration’s decision to impose sanctions.

Gonzalez said that he had no interest in mediating between Managua and Washington, but that Spain could play a role in promoting peace and dialogue.

Reiterating his opposition to the sanctions announced by the White House May 1, Gonzalez said that Spain would continue its policy of aid and trade with Nicaragua and was considering adding to a current $40-million credit line. He said Spanish military aid to the Sandinista government, however, would be a “mistake.”