The political and diplomatic crisis between Ecuador and Argentina continued to worsen in recent days due to growing suspicions between the two countries and the aggressive statements by Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín after a former minister of Rafael Correa, sentenced to prison for corruption, disappeared from the country.
“In the best of cases, Argentina has not acted with due diligence,” Holguín said during an interview published this Sunday in Clarín. “At worst, it is an act of bad faith, as Mr. Fuks has collaborated with a criminal to evade justice.”
Fuks is Gabriel Fuks, Argentine ambassador in Ecuador, expelled by the Government of Quito. Despite the fact that the Argentine president, Alberto Fernández, spoke with Holguín himself, the escalation continues. María de los Angeles Duarte Pesante appeared in Caracas greeting the Argentine ambassador to Venezuela, Oscar Laborde, a huge surprise for the Ecuadorian authorities, who believed that Duarte was still in her territory.
Duarte Pesante was a “guest” at the Argentine embassy in Ecuador. She had been staying in one of the houses that are part of the three-hectare diplomatic complex since August 2020. Guillermo Lasso, Ecuadorian president, refused to give her the safe-conduct to leave the country. Meanwhile, Fernández and Santiago Cafiero, the Argentine foreign minister, took the case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR). The former minister has a 12-year-old son who also has Argentine nationality.
“Ecuador cannot conclude how Duarte Pesantes escaped under the noses of the police. And it cannot say how Migrations happened. If he went by land to Colombia, a border state, or if he took a plane in Quito itself, “said Infobae , who interviewed Ambassador Fuks..
“María de los Ángeles Duarte did not escape me, they escaped. She was not imprisoned in the residence. This is not a police novel, it is diplomacy. Who keeps that information if I gave it to them? In addition, the Justice had not asked them for that material. They lie with everything. Blatantly”.
But Holguín, and therefore the Ecuadorian government, believe that the liar is Fuks. “It was decided to declare him persona non grata, after analyzing that the person who served as ambassador of Argentina gave imprecise and contradictory versions on the three occasions when Ecuadorian government authorities met with him. The inaccuracies, doubts, contradictions made it clear that Mr. Fuks was hiding the truth,” Holguín told Clarín.
The Ecuadorian police hypothesize that Duarte Pesante will leave the residence of the Argentine ambassador in a car with a diplomatic license plate. Fuks, who is not a diplomat and held the position by political appointment, called the claim nonsense. Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian government offers a panorama of some confusion. How did Duarte escape from Ecuador?
“This Foreign Ministry has confirmed that there are no regular records of their departure at any land border, or at airports. Even according to official information provided by the Colombian authorities, who have collaborated effectively with our country and we are very grateful for it, it is that there Nor has Mrs. Duarte passed through, at least on a regular basis, that is, through an authorized border crossing”.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
