Ecuador asks US ambassador to go

Foreign minister declares Heather Hodges ‘persona non grata’ after leaked cables signed by her office allege police corruption The US ambassador to Ecuador has been asked to leave the country over leaked diplomatic cables released by WikiLeaks that allege police corruption. The foreign minister, Ricardo Patino, told reporters he had not received a satisfactory explanation from the ambassador, Heather Hodges, about cables previously released by WikiLeaks and signed by her office. “Ecuador’s government has decided to consider this woman as a persona non grata … we have asked her to leave the country in the shortest time possible,” he said. Patino said the decision did not mean Ecuador was breaking off relations with the United States. WikiLeaks has caused an international uproar by handing sensitive US diplomatic documents to the media. The US ambassador to Mexico resigned last month after a public spat with President Felipe Calderón. Tensions were fueled by WikiLeaks reports of comments made by the envoy about Mexico’s lack of co-ordination in battling drug cartels. Late last year, Ecuador offered WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange the possibility of working and seeking residency in the Andean country. But President Rafael Correa later withdrew the offer saying Assange had broken US laws. Ecuador US foreign policy The US embassy cables US national security WikiLeaks United States guardian.co.uk

Posted by on April 5, 2011. Filed under News, Politics, World News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.