Hugo, Grrr.

Hugo Chavez is busy trying to buy the Nicaraguan election for Daniel Ortega. Ortega's a two-time loser in his nation's presidential elections, but a new provision allowing a candidate to win election with only 35% of the vote has made him a real contender.

Noting that Nicaragua still recognizes Taiwan and that Ortega has vowed to switch recognition to the People’s Republic of China, Montealegre told me Ortega’s election would lead to “a dynamic new relationship between Beijing and our hemisphere and would clearly enhance mainland China’s influence in the hemisphere.” He also expects that under Ortega, Managua “would be a way station for Iran, as it was for Libya, the PLO, and Basque terrorists in the 1980s.