Nicaraguan writer Sergio Ramirez to live in exile in Spain

MANAGUA, Nicaragua (AP) — Writer and former Nicaraguan Vice President Sergio Ramírez says he will live in exile in Spain, after the government of President Daniel Ortega tried to arrest him and banned his latest book. The 79-year-old writer served as vice president during Ortega’s first government from 1985 to 1990. But in the mid-1990s he distanced himself from Ortega, along with other intellectuals and former guerrillas. Ramírez retired from politics in 1996, but continues to be an important voice in the country. In September, Ortega’s government issued an arrest warrant for him for “acts that foment and incite hatred and violence.” Ramírez initially intended to live in Costa Rica.