Ecuador: Protest in Quito July 5 following Correa arrest warrant /update 2

Event

An arrest warrant was issued by an Ecuadorian court for former President Rafael Correa on Tuesday, July 3. The ruling was made after Correa failed to adhere to an earlier decision by the National Court of Justice (Corte Nacional de Justicia; CNJ) to report to Quito every two weeks beginning on July 2 to give testimony regarding a 2012 attempted kidnapping. Correa, who has been living in Belgium since leaving power in 2017, has called the charges political persecution and instead presented himself to the Ecuadorian Embassy in Brussels. Ecuador has requested that Interpol issue an international arrest warrant for his extradition from Belgium.

Correa supporters have called for a demonstration in Quito on Thursday, July 5, to denounce the ruling. The protest is scheduled to take place at the Parque del Arbolito beginning at 15:00 (local time); similar rallies are possible in other urban centers across the country on Thursday. Further demonstrations by Correa supporters and opponents are possible in the coming days and weeks.

Context

Correa (in office 2007-2017) is accused of having ordered the 2012 kidnapping of a member of congress who had been convicted of slandering the then-president. Correa has also been linked to corruption scandals related to the energy multinationals Odebrecht and PetroChina, although formal charges were never filed. However, Ecuador’s former Vice President Jorge Glas was sentenced to six years in prison in December 2017, charged with accepting bribes while serving under Correa in connection with the Odebrecht scandal.

Advice

Individuals in Ecuador are advised to keep abreast of the situation and avoid all protests as a precaution due to the potential for violence.