Is a softer side of Ortega emerging? U.S. is backing Nicaraguan in his fight to reduce poverty.(WORLD)(BRIEFING: THE AMERICAS)

Byline: Carmen Gentile, THE WASHINGTON TIMES

MIAMI - It has been just over a year since Daniel Ortega - the one-time guerrilla leader considered by Washington to be a menace in Central America - resumed the presidency of an impoverished Nicaragua, a post he coveted for more than 15 years before being re-elected.

Though Mr. Ortega remains an outspoken critic of the United States, he appears to have tempered some of his hard-line leftist ways by honoring a recently brokered free-trade agreement between Central American nations and the United States.

He remains on good terms ...