Ortega says Colombia condemning hostages to death

MANAGUA, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega accused Colombian President Alvaro Uribe on Saturday of effectively condemning to death a well-known hostage held by Colombian leftist rebels by suspending talks for her release.

It was the latest dispute between the two countries, after Colombia attacked the leftist Ortega on Friday for referring to the leader of Colombia's FARC rebels as a brother. Nicaragua and Colombia are also at odds over sovereignty of small islands in the Caribbean.

Ortega, an ally of Venezuela's anti-U.S. government, said Uribe was risking the life of French-Colombian hostage Ingrid Betancourt, a former presidential candidate in Colombia who has been held by the FARC since 2002.

Uribe, a conservative who is close to Washington, last month broke off Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez's attempts to negotiate the release of Betancourt and other hostages and accused Chavez of overstepping his mandate.

"He (Uribe) is condemning Ingrid Betancourt to death, that's what he is doing," Ortega told a news conference.

International pressure is building for Uribe and the FARC, who have been waging Latin America's longest-running rebel insurgency, to reach a deal to free hostages, who also include American contractors.

Colombia's government on Friday formally complained to Nicaragua after Ortega, an ex-Marxist guerrilla, referred to Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, chief Manuel Marulanda as a "dear brother" during a speech. (Reporting by Ivan Castro, writing by Cyntia Barrera Diaz, editing by Alan Elsner)