|
Ousted Ecuadorean president
leaves for asylum in Brazil
Ousted Ecuadorean President
Lucio Gutierrez left the country
early Sunday for political
asylum in Brazil on a Brazilian
Air Force plane, television
reported.
Gutierrez left the Brazilian
ambassador's residence at about
4:15 am (0915 GMT) through a
side entrance and was escorted
to a base at the international
airport by heavily armed police,
the report said.
Gutierrez, a former army colonel
elected president in 2002, had
holed up in the Brazilian
ambassador's residence since
Congress ended his presidency
Wednesday amid mass protests
which left three people dead and
tens of others injured in
capital Quito.
Angry demonstrators had
surrounded the Brazilian Embassy
for days and demanded Gutierrez
be captured and brought to
trial.
Ecuador's Congress sacked
Gutierrez for dereliction of
duty and appointed Vice
President Alfredo Palacio as new
president.
Gutierrez was accused by
political rivals of attempting
to amass power by replacing
Ecuador's Supreme Court. Brazil
offered to grant asylum to the
deposed president on Thursday.
|
|
