"It was a shock tactic," an official close to President Ortega said this morning.

January 1988: President Ortega announces that talks with the contras will begin.

President Ortega appealed to the United States to endorse the new agreement.

President Ortega said that if the truce expires, his troops will attack contra forces.

Until now, President Ortega had refused to take such steps until all outside aid to the rebels was cut off.

President Ortega's aides swore the arrests were made without his orders.

President Ortega denies that his troops have crossed the border.

President Ortega faces the most potent challenge to his leadership since the Sandinistas took full control in 1981.

In an interview today, President Ortega vowed to abide by this provision.

President Ortega has said the amnesty will not apply to former guardsmen, estimated to number 2,500, who have been convicted of crimes.