The Government of Ecuador announced on Tuesday the expulsion of the Argentine ambassador in Quito, gabriel fuksand called his ambassador in Buenos Aires for consultations, Xavier Mongeafter the escape of former minister María de los Ángeles Duarte to Venezuela.
(Keep reading: Former Ecuadorian minister convicted of corruption escapes from the Argentine Embassy)
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador, Juan Carlos Holguinargued in a press conference a loss of confidence in Fuks, in whose residence Duarte had taken refuge for more than two and a half years to avoid going to prison for a conviction for corruption.
(You can read: The former president of Ecuador Lenín Moreno will be accused of bribery by the Prosecutor’s Office)
The departure for Caracas of Duarte, who was a minister in the government of the leftist Rafael Correa (2007-2017), occurred after the Government of Argentine President Alberto Fernández granted him the requested asylum in December but that of Ecuador, chaired by the conservative Guillermo Lassowill deny her safe conduct to travel to Buenos Aires without being detained.
The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry had reported on the escape of a former minister convicted of corruption and taking asylum in the Argentine embassy in Quito, and presented her “emphatic claim” to Buenos Aires.
(Also: Ecuador: correísmo takes presidential airs after election results)
The Argentine Foreign Minister, Santiago Cafiero, informed his counterpart, Juan Carlos Holguín, “that Mrs. María Duarte escaped from the Argentine Embassy in the city of Quito,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in a statement.
According to the bulletin, the Argentine ambassador, Gabriel Fuks, was “immediately summoned” to disclose “more details” about the escape of Duarte, who had been taking refuge in the embassy in Quito since August 2020, after receiving a eight-year prison sentence for bribery.
(Keep reading: Ecuador: Guillermo Lasso refreshes his cabinet, what is he looking for with the changes?)
Duarte was sentenced along with former President Rafael Correa -asylee in Belgium- and other former government officials for being part of a criminal structure that requested bribes for almost 7.6 million dollars from companies in exchange for contracts with the State, according to the Prosecutor’s Office.
Although the defendants deny the charges and assure that it is a judicial persecution (“lawfare”) organized by their political opponents, the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry has assured that the trial against Duarte concluded before the current government assumed power in May 2021 .
WILLIAM MORENO HERNANDEZ
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
TIME
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