We grew up in a situation where we didn't know what freedom or justice were, and therefore we didn't know what democracy was. |
We had explored the possibility of the French sending us Mirage, and the French were willing; and when this became known, the Americans reacted by announcing publicly that they would not allow those armaments to enter Nicaragua and that they would bomb the Nicaraguan ports. |
What we asked for were weapons so that we could defend ourselves -- that's what we asked of the Soviet Union, of the socialist countries of Eastern Europe, of the Algerians, of the Vietnamese; and that's what we received so that we could arm the Nicaraguan people and defend ourselves in that war imposed on us by Ronald Reagan's Administration over a number of years. |
Without the United States, there simply would not have been an armed uprising in our country. |
[An Ortega victory in November would leave Latin America with a third U.S. antagonist in the region, along with Cuba's Fidel Castro and Venezuela's Hugo Chavez. It would] raise the morale of Latin America, ... Other countries will say, 'Look, that small country got away with it. So can we!' We will spread the revolution. |