Ex-Leader’s Conviction a Good Sign for Nicaragua

Re “Nicaragua Says ‘Enough,’ ” editorial, Dec. 10: The conviction of former Nicaraguan President Arnoldo Aleman on corruption charges including fraud, embezzlement and money-laundering is a rare if hopeful step for his country and the rest of Latin America.

More than a decade after a U.S.-sponsored civil war devastated the country, Nicaragua remains the second-poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere precisely because of corrupt leaders like Aleman who have looted social funds meant to aid the poor and caricatured the country’s international standing. Despite previously backing Aleman as part of its mindless creed to prevent the election of the leftist Sandinistas at any price, Washington today is commendably supporting current President Enrique Bolanos’ efforts to fight venality.

While the sentencing of a former president for fraud could set a transformative precedent for a corruption-prone region, there is much work still to be done. A poll released Dec. 8 showed that only 18% of Nicaraguans think Bolanos is in charge of the government, while more than 70% correctly believe that Aleman and Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega, who are bitter enemies but chronically have struck unsavory political deals to their own personal benefit, hold the nation’s real power.

As Aleman prepares his appeal, it is essential that the Nicaraguan public demand that the country’s highly politicized judiciary follow through on its tentative first steps toward legitimacy. If Aleman is allowed to slip away from his misdeeds, a historic opportunity will be lost.

Chris Strunk

Research Associate

Council on Hemispheric

Affairs, Washington