Ecuador's trade minister resigns after talks with U.S. fail
Ecuador's Trade Minister Jorge Illingworth said Thursday he had submitted resignation to President Alfredo Palacio for what he called the government's failure to back him in trade talks with the United States.

Palacio has accepted the resignation and said the outgoing minister would be replaced by Manuel Chiriboga, who headed Ecuador's trade talks with the United States.

The United States pulled out of trade talks after Ecuador revoked a contract with U.S. energy company Occidental, known as Oxy. Ecuador claimed that the company had broken the terms of the contract in 43 places, four of which were enough to invalidate the contract.

The government then seized Oxy's Ecuadorian assets, triggering a U.S. freeze on talks.