Word: correa
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Several former officials of the Ecuadorian government had ties with Colombia's Marxist guerrillas, a commission named by President Rafael Correa conceded Tuesday. The announcement is sure to stir up new questions about how deeply South America's political left, including Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, has aided a rebel force condemned worldwide as drug traffickers and terrorists. And it raises the risk, said the commission's coordinator, Francisco Huerta, that Ecuador is "becoming a narco-democracy...
...Correa, a Chávez ally, set up the commission review last spring to independently investigate a controversial raid by Colombian commandos on a Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) camp in Angostura, just inside Ecuador, as well as allegations that Ecuador was supporting the rebels. Colombia assaulted the camp on March 1, 2008, killing nearly two dozen people, including one of the guerrillas' top commanders, who is known as Raul Reyes. The attack was criticized throughout Latin America for violating Ecuadorian territory. But the government of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe argued that laptops found by Colombian troops during...
...page Angostura report provides further evidence that Gustavo Larrea, who has held positions as Interior and Security Minister under Correa, had direct links to the FARC, along with José Ignacio Chauvín, briefly his deputy in the Interior Ministry, and Maria Augusta Calle, a television journalist and currently a legislator for Correa's Alianza PAIS political movement. All deny supporting the guerrillas. At the same time, however, the report is certain to come under scrutiny for the way it insulates Correa from blame. (It also finds no wrongdoing by any of his current officials.) "If we have pedophile...
...Correa, who has veered hard to the left politically since being sworn in for a second term last August, continues to enjoy greater popularity than any of his predecessors who lasted as long in office in the 30 years since Ecuador returned to democracy. He has an approval rating near 60%, according to pollster Santiago Perez. He has weathered scandals including past allegations of involvement of his officials with the FARC and numerous accusations of corruption on the part of members of his government, made since June by his older brother Fabricio, with whom Correa is no longer on speaking...
Huerta, however, said that the commission didn't find evidence of FARC donations to Correa's 2006 election campaign. According to Correa's now-estranged brother Fabricio, who managed the campaign, the rebels' offer of a donation was rejected. It is up to Ecuador's Prosecutor General's Office to investigate any crimes related to the report; however, in the 21 months since the attack, it has dragged its heels, Huerta said...