Daniel Ortega Goes From U.S. Foe to Friend in Drug War Battle

Daniel Ortega, the Nicaraguan leader who overthrew a U.S.-backed dictatorship and then bore the wrath of rebels funded by American weapons sales to Iran, isn’t so bad after all, at least according to drug-policy experts.

While the 69-year-old Ortega remains a fierce critic of the “Yankees” to the north, Nicaragua doesn’t give the U.S. the sort of drug, immigration or crime headaches brought on by closer allies in Central America or Mexico.