Nicaraguans voted Sunday to whether to return to power Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega. Ortega is ahead in the polls and has a chance to regain power in the tiny, poverty-stricken nation of 5 million people. Ortega is facing off against 4 other candidates 16 years after the end of his leftist rule and a U.S.-backed war to topple him.
Ortega, who came to power following a leftist revolution in the late 1970s, is an old nemesis of the United States. Under President Reagan, the United States backed a rebellion against Ortega which led to a violent civil war.
The United States is watching the race closely and has warned against an Ortega win. The race is also being watched by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, a U.S. opponent who hopes to have an ally in Ortega.
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