The tortuous relationship between Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega and the U.S. took another step recently, when 222 political prisoners in the Central American nation were taken by surprise in the middle of the night and carried onto a plane that deported them to Washington.
After landing on U.S. soil and being stripped of their nationalities, the prisoners complained of physical and psychological abuse from Nicaraguan guards and extended periods of time in solitary confinement, all based on accusations of foreign backing or plotting against the regime.
Human rights organizations and the U.S. government had been calling out the persecution and…