Responding to the dramatic events that transpired on Thursday in Ecuador, leaders from across Latin America expressed their unequivocal support for that country’s president, Rafael Correa. In pan-American solidarity, presidents ranging from Bolivia’s Evo Morales to Colombia’s Juan Manuel Santos condemned the police attack on President Correa, which left him captive in a Quito hospital for hours before being freed by a successful military rescue operation late Thursday night.
Members of the police force rioted Thursday to protest a new law reducing benefits and the pace of salary increases for public servants. It was unclear whether they sought actual control of the government.
Heads of states belonging to the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) flew to Buenos Aires late Thursday to participate in an emergency meeting on developments in Ecuador. Only President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva of Brazil, on the campaign trail ahead of Sunday’s presidential elections, and President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay, recovering from chemotherapy treatment, did not attend.
Shortly after the meeting began, Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner announced that Correa had been liberated and was in good health. UNASUR issued a statement denouncing the rebellion and emphasizing the preservation of democracy and institutional order. The South American bloc was joined in its sentiments by the Organization of American States and U.S. State Department.
Earlier in the day, individual heads of state, beginning with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, had issued statements in support of Correa’s democratically elected government. Chilean President Sebastián Piñera urged UNASUR nations to meet to end any attempt to disrupt the constitutional and democratic order in Ecuador, while Cuban leader Fidel Castro called the attack an “already-failed coup d’etat.” Both Peru and Colombia closed their borders with Ecuador in an additional sign of solidarity.
UNASUR foreign ministers are expected to travel to Quito Friday morning “to show their support to President Rafael Correa and to the Ecuadorean people,” according to Argentine Foreign Minister Héctor Timerman.
Click here for a resource guide to the crisis in Ecuador.
