Rep. Jack Kemp of New York has...
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WASHINGTON — Rep. Jack Kemp of New York has revised his travel plans and will not visit Nicaragua during a trip this week to Central America because the Nicaraguan government failed to respond to his request to meet with the nation’s “true leaders,” an aide said Sunday.
Raul Fernandez, a legislative aide to Kemp, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination, said the letter asked permission for Kemp and a 50-member delegation to meet with representatives from the Conservative, Social Christian and Social Democrat parties.
The group is scheduled to depart tonight.
“We wanted to see the true leaders of Nicaragua, people who stand for freedom, human rights and democracy, people like Lino Hernandez, Alberto Saborio, Violeta Chammorro and Cardinal Obando y Bravo,” Kemp said of the request.
Nicaraguan officials were not available for comment Sunday.
Kemp made no request to meet with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega. “Congressman Kemp doesn’t recognize him as true leader of the Nicaraguan people,” Fernandez said.
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