Ecuador's President Orders
Expulsion of U.S. Diplomat
Quito - Ecuadorian President Rafael
Correa Saturday ordered the expulsion of a senior U.S. diplomat,
demanding him to leave the country within 48 hours.
Correa said the U.S. official, Armando Astorga, announced the
suspension of 340,000 dollars in annual aid to Ecuador's
anti-smuggling police in a letter dated Jan. 8.
"Mr. Astorga, Keep your dirty money! We don't need it. Here there is
sovereignty and dignity," Correa said during his weekly radio
address.
The president asked the Foreign Ministry to give the U.S. diplomat
48 hours to pack his luggage and get out of the country.
U.S. embassy spokeswoman Marta Youth refused to make any comment on
the president's order, but said the official in question, the
Immigration and Customs Enforcement attache, left Ecuador in early
January when his assignment ended and the aid suspension was a U.S.
government decision.
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