(11 Jan 2017)
Daniel Ortega was sworn in for another term as Nicaragua's president Tuesday while his wife, Rosario Murillo, became the new vice president, giving a married couple the reins of power for the first time in the Central American country's history.
Ortega, a 71-year-old former Sandinista guerrilla fighter, took the oath in Managua with the presidents of Venezuela, Bolivia and Taiwan in attendance.
Ortega and Murillo were elected in November with 72.5 percent of the vote, but with a high rate of abstentions.
Their party won 71 of the 92 seats in parliament.
Ortega alluded to when he entered power in 2007 with the country's business community against him.
"The businessmen and a segment of the country were scared of our return because of the seizures, the war, the chaos, but we have shown that it's not like that," he said.
Nicaragua could face economic challenges in Ortega's third 5-year term amid a steep drop in aid from Venezuela, which has funded many social programs.
A law is also being considered in the U.S. that could block Nicaragua's access to loans from international lending organizations, pushed by American legislators critical of a lack of government transparency.
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