Ecuadorian Congress: US Puts Pressures on President
Ecuadorian Congress leader Wilfredo Lucero stated Saturday the US exerted strong pressures on President Alfredo Palacio through the Organization of American States (OAS).

Washington seeks the new Ecuadorian government continue supporting the Colombia Plan and the Free Trade Agreement, denounced Wilfredo Lucero, who met with OAS officials on Friday.

Lucero said the regional entity could issue a negative report on events causing the dismissal on April 20 of then Ecuadorian President Lucio Gutierrez.

Ecuadorians will not accept a OAS document ignoring the Congress decision, the high ranking official maintained.

He considered deputies acted in keeping with the Constitution and strongly condemned the OAS presence here.

On the US pressures, he noted the White House goal was to force governments to give in and used them as carpets to sign free trade agreements and the Colombia Plan, which are paramount for the North American power.

I believe we are dealing with pressures from the world´s most powerful country, probably to subdue the new administration, Lucero added.

The OAS visit to Chile has taken place amid statements made in Chile by US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, who described Ecuador as a weak-democracy state.