Nicaragua’s vote to strip opponents of citizenship

By MEGAN JANETSKY
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega has sent 222 political leaders, priests, students, activists and other dissidents to the United States, whose release was long demanded by the international community. But shortly after putting the former prisoners on a plane to Washington, Ortega’s government voted to strip them of Nicaraguan citizenship, Analysts, legal experts and human rights groups are calling it a political ploy but also say it is a violation of international law. They add that the move is unprecedented — at least in the Western Hemisphere — in terms of scale and impact.