Russia to update Nicaragua arms

MANAGUA, Nicaragua – Russia’s ambassador to Managua said Wednesday that his country will replace the Nicaraguan army’s aging weaponry.

Ambassador Igor S. Kondrashev said there are no plans, however, to expand the Central American country’s military arsenal.

Nicaragua acquired most of its arms and military equipment from the former Soviet Union in the 1980s, when the leftist Sandinista government was fighting U.S.-backed rebels. The army has insisted it needs new helicopters and Navy ships to patrol Caribbean waters, where there is a boundary dispute with Colombia.