High-level team to head for Nicaragua

Washington Times ^ | Tuesday, February 22, 2005 | By Rowan Scarborough

[JohnHuang2]

THE WASHINGTON TIMES

The Bush administration plans to send a high-level team to Nicaragua to protest Managua's failure to account for shoulder-fired missiles that could fall into the hands of Islamic terrorists, a senior U.S. official said yesterday. The United States has become increasingly worried about the fate of hundreds of Soviet-provided SA-7s like the ones used by terrorists in Kenya in 2002 to try to down an Israeli airliner. In that attack, the two missiles missed their target. The Nicaragua problem arose last month when a police sting, aided by U.S. officials, captured an SA-7 missile from four Nicaraguans who thought they were selling it to Colombian terrorists. To some U.S. officials, the missile's appearance at an air-conditioner repair shop in Managua was proof that elements of the military were hoarding scores of SA-7s for future sale on the black market.

[GeronL]

bump

[livius]

"This is essentially the Sandinista party taking control over the missiles," the senior U.S. official said.

The left is on the rise throughout LatAm. They've been plotting their come-back for a long time, and State's neglect (even under Bush, although I hope Rice will change that) has given them the space they needed.