World: New Breed of Activist Envoys

The U.S. Ambassador's hilltop residence in Managua, Nicaragua, is so imposing that it might easily be mistaken for a presidential palace or deluxe resort hotel. For decades the 20-room mansion was a fitting accessory to the role performed by a series of U.S. envoys. In those days, the American Ambassador was among the capital's top VIPS, acting as a kind of proconsul for U.S. commercial interests and as a guardian of the local status quo.

All that has changed. When Lawrence Pezzullo first arrived as U.S. Ambassador to Nicaragua, he abandoned the monumental official residence for smaller quarters. Pezzullo, 54,...

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