Ex-Nicaragua rebel convicted of conspiring against Ortega

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — A lawyers group in Nicaragua says a hearing that lasted only a few hours ended with the conviction of former Sandinista rebel commander Dora María Téllez. The Judicial Defense Unit said Thursday the trial was held in the infamous Chipote prison, where 39 political opponents of President Daniel Ortega have been held for months. The lawyers say the judge found Tellez guilty of “conspiracy to undermine national integrity” and recommended she be sentenced to 15 years in prison. The 65-year-old Tellez is a former ally of Ortega during the Sandinista revolution that ousted the Somoza dictatorship in 1979. But she later broke with the president, who won a fourth term in November elections that drew widespread international criticism.