AP News, March 18th, 2007
A former president convicted of money laundering and embezzlement was freed from the conditions of his parole and allowed to travel around the country, a move critics said Saturday was a ploy by President Daniel Ortega to weaken the opposition.
Former president Arnoldo Aleman, who acknowledged last month he spent $1.8 million in government money on jewelry and meals while seeking hurricane aid abroad in 1998, was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to a 20-year prison term. He was later granted parole.
On Friday, the National Penitentiary System loosened the condition of Aleman's parole that had limited him to the capital, allowing him to travel throughout Nicaragua. Aleman embarked on a national tour Saturday to promote what he called reconciliation in the country.
Opposition leader Eduardo Montealegre accused Ortega of releasing Aleman from the conditions of his parole in order to keep the country's liberal factions divided.
Aleman still retains influence among some in the Constitutionalist Liberal Party, and Montealegre headed the ticket of a breakaway Liberal party in his run against Ortega for president.
"It was a direct decision by the president," Montealegre told Channel 12 television. "It is evident that there is a deal between the Sandinista Front (Ortega's party) and the Constitutionalist Liberal Party to keep the Liberals divided."
Prosecutors have said Aleman stole about $100 million in government money during his 1998-2002 presidency. Aleman has denied stealing any public funds, suggesting last month that the funds he spent in 1998 were justifiable travel expenses because his trips coincided with an inflow of aid.
Aleman has said he would like to return to the presidency.
