Ortega: "the Threat Is Still There"

Two days after the House of Representatives rejected Reagan's request for aid to the contras, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega forsook his usual morning jog to sit down in a wellappointed sitting room next to his Managua office for an interview with TIME Correspondent Laura Lopez. Casually dressed and sporting a black Swatch watch, Ortega was relaxed and open, although half a dozen armed guards lurked just outside the door. Excerpts from his remarks:

On the House vote. It causes us no happiness. We have no reason to applaud. The threat to Nicaragua is still there. U.S. troops are present in Honduras. The U.S. had a warship 60 miles off of Puerto Corinto. This is threatening.

On U.S. intentions. The U.S. is at war with Nicaragua. It is not formal, but it is open. First, Reagan got $27 million in humanitarian assistance; now he is asking for military advisers on the ground with the mercenaries. (The contras) haven't been able to advance with the $27 million, they won't be able to advance with the advice, so the U.S. will have to put combat units with them. When they do so, U.S. troops will die too.

On diplomacy. We will never negotiate with the contras. We are prepared to negotiate and discuss with the chief of the contras, Ronald Reagan, and his functionaries. If the U.S. feels that Nicaragua is a threat to its interests in the region, we will look for mechanisms of security so the U.S. feels secure. Nicaragua's internal situation cannot be negotiated.

On Reagan's charges that Nicaragua supports terrorism and drug trafficking, commits atrocities and represses its people. He is lying to the American people. He loses credibility when he behaves this way.

On his private side. During my clandestine days, there was no room for a personal life. With the triumph, there are more possibilities for a personal life, but it is always shared with an obligation to the Nicaraguan people.

On what kind of preparation he had for becoming President. None (laughs). I never thought I'd be President.

On decision making within the Sandinista directorate. We have lively discussions, and we decide by consensus. Our differences in the struggle to overthrow Somoza were tactical, but our objectives were the same. The fundamental contradictions outsiders try to find do not exist.

On his personal ideology. I admire Marx because I feel his thoughts are useful for humanity. But I identify first of all with Sandino. I rejected Somoza and U.S. intervention. I grew up with this reality. We were anti-Somoza and anti- Yankee. We didn't think there were any good Yankees.

On religion. I admire Christ as a fighter for the people, as an instrument of liberation. But I didn't respect the bishops who supported Somoza.

On what he would say to Reagan personally. I would invite him to normalize relations with Nicaragua, to have a friendly policy. I would invite him to convert himself into a factor for peace in Latin America and the world. If he says he is a Christian, that he believes in God, he could have a more Christian policy. He could be more humble. He could try a new type of relationship with a revolutionary government, a government that is not a threat to the United States.