"The thing they need most now is breathing space," a Sandinista official said.

Sandinista officials estimated that more than 30 of the 40 who were taken away were now free.

The idea of such a linkage is now being raised directly by Sandinista officials.

And Sandinista officials say they believe that circumstances have already carried them beyond the rigid world of their old friend.

Sandinista officials have said they may lose elections, but they will never give up power.

"We just had no idea," said one Sandinista official.

"The alternative is 25 years of war," a Sandinista official said at a news briefing today.

But never before has a top Sandinista official quit the party without joining its enemies.

Senior Sandinista officials had said, however, that they were not considering foreign pressure when deciding how to resolve the matter.

Sandinista officials did not respond to requests to comment on the allegations.