Soob

"This act is a symbol of Latin America's desire to be independent,"

So said Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua's newest president. And then acquiesced to a "gift" of 100,000 barrels of oil and $20 million dollars (interest free "loans') from... Hugo Chavez.

...Before taking office, Ortega assured Washington that he would maintain ties and remain part of the regional Central American Free Trade Agreement. But none of those promises have been evident his first day in office Thursday, during which he agreed to join Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas, or ALBA, designed to serve as a counterweight to a U.S. proposed, hemisphere-wide trade deal.

"This act is a symbol of Latin America's desire to be independent," Ortega said...

Independent... Right. Good luck with that bit, Sr. Ortega.