Mr Jarquin is now Mr Ortega's running-mate, even though in the 1980s he was also jailed by the Sandinists.

ECONOMIST: Could the Sandinist leader return to the presidency?

Mr Jarquin himself was jailed late last year, on fraud charges that foreign officials in Managua suspect were trumped up.

ECONOMIST: Nicaragua

One of Mr Aleman's actions was to have Agustin Jarquin, the government comptroller and his chief accuser, jailed and later squeezed out of the job.

ECONOMIST: Could the Sandinist leader return to the presidency?