Ortega faces sex charges by his step-daughter

MANAGUA, March 4: The step-daughter of former Nicaraguan president and Opposition leader Daniel Ortega publicly accused him of sexually abusing her, but her mother has called the charge "false."

"Starting when I was 11, I was sexually attacked repeatedly for many years by someone who, despite the fact he was a father, abused his power," Zoilamerica Ortega wrote in a letter published in local media. But her mother Rosario Murillo said the accusation was plain false. "This is a falsehood. This is a blow to our family," she said.

"And it is a worse blow since it comes from someone near and dear."

"We are in pain," said an emotional Murillo. "For us, this is a family issue that has a political aspect because the father has spent 14 years fighting this nation’s political battles and that has its compensation and its costs."