Nicaragua to Make Mothers of War Dead Property Owners

Mothers of Nicaraguans who died in wars against former dictator Anastasio Somoza and, more recently, against U.S.-backed Contras will become owners of their rented homes, President Daniel Ortega said.

“Mothers of heroes and martyrs become the owners of the property they are living in,” he told 10,000 cheering people at a rally Friday in Managua.

Mothers of war victims who rented houses from the state will be given them. Houses rented from private owners will be seized by the state and given to mothers occupying them, Ortega said, reading from a presidential decree.

Ortega said he was ordering houses given to the mothers of war victims because some of them had recently been evicted by landlords. He did not say if the owners would be compensated.