Voice of America launches in Nicaragua
The Voice of America is going head-to-head with a cable network backed by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez with transmissions in Sandinista-governed Nicaragua.

The Nicaraguan company Earth Satellite Stations, or Estesa, has been transmitting the U.S. government-funded news broadcasts on the Channel 71 cable station since last month, the U.S. Embassy said Tuesday.

Estesa had already been transmitting the Chavez-backed Telesur, a new Latin American television network meant to provide a South American alternative to American-based news networks.

Chavez ally Daniel Ortega was inaugurated as president on Jan. 10 following a campaign in which he pledged to remain close to his leftist friends while also maintaining good relations with the U.S., which backed a guerrilla war against his socialist-style Sandinista government in the 1980s.

The U.S. is one of Nicaragua's main investment partners, but both Venezuela and Iran are rapidly winning over the country's poor with promises of low-interest loans and energy aid.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Embassy, Kristin Stewart, told The Associated Press that the new Voice of America feed "is not about trying to counteract Telesur, but to give the Nicaraguan community a quality news and cultural service."

The VOA broadcasts news and information on the radio, television and Internet in 44 languages for countries around the world. It claims a weekly audience of more than 115 million and has transmitted radio broadcasts by shortwave to Nicaragua for many years.

Telesur already claims 2.5 million cable viewers in 17 countries. The Venezuelan government holds a 51 percent stake, with smaller shares owned by Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay and Bolivia.