A diplomatic crisis erupted between Ecuador and Argentina on Tuesday, after the flight to Venezuela of a former Ecuadorian minister convicted of corruption who escaped from the Argentine embassy in Quito where she had taken refuge for more than two years.
Ecuador has declared “persona non grata” the Argentine ambassador to Quito, Gabriel Fuks, and recalled for consultations its ambassador to Buenos Aires, Xavier Monge, announced at a press conference the head of diplomacy Ecuadorian Juan Carlos Holguin.
Argentina later announced that it was also recalling its ambassador to Ecuador.
Ecuador’s former transport and public works minister, Maria de los Angeles Duarte Pesantes, “showed up at the Argentine embassy in Caracas” on Tuesday, without specifying how she got there, the ministry said earlier. of Argentine Foreign Affairs.
The Ecuadorian government said in a statement on Monday that the former minister had fled, urging Argentina to provide an explanation. The recall of the ambassador to Buenos Aires is due to “inconsistencies” in these explanations, said Mr. Holguin.
Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero, for his part, claimed that Ms Duarte Pesantes had “escaped” from the embassy “without the staff knowing about it”.
The former minister had taken refuge with her minor son in the Argentine embassy in Quito in August 2020, after being sentenced to eight years in prison for corruption by the Ecuadorian justice.
She had been convicted, along with former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) — in exile in Belgium — and other former government officials, for her role in a montage of nearly 7.6 million in bribes in exchange for state contracts, according to the prosecutor’s office.
In December 2022, Ecuador refused to grant the ex-minister safe conduct which would have allowed him to leave the country and reach Argentina, where he was granted asylum.
“The Argentine government was surprised and deeply saddened by the decision of the Ecuadorian government to aggravate the existing disagreement on the situation of Maria de los Angeles Duarte to the point of harming bilateral relations”, reacted Tuesday evening the Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs .
“There is no international norm that required Argentine diplomatic authorities to exercise custody over Duarte. This temporary situation will not change our deep appreciation for the Ecuadorian people,” the Argentine ministry continued.
“Regretting, therefore, the incomprehensible decision of the Ecuadorian government to request the withdrawal from Ecuador of Ambassador Gabriel Fuks, it was decided to adopt the same situation on our side with regard to the Ecuadorian Ambassador in Argentina”, a- he added.
Former socialist president Rafael Correa and his collaborators at the time unanimously reject the decisions of the Ecuadorian courts and claim, for their part, to be the object of political persecution.
The Argentine ministry clarified that Ms. Duarte “has expressed that she has no intention of going to Argentina in the short term”.
03/15/2023 02:54:16 – Quito (AFP) – © 2023 AFP
