Ecuador summoned the Argentine ambassador and expressed its discomfort at the government’s decision to grant asylum to a former minister convicted of corruption

The presidents of Ecuador and Argentina, Guillermo Lasso and Alberto Fernández

The tension between the governments of Argentina and Ecuador is increasing, following the government of Alberto Fernández requested at the beginning of this month the political asylum of María de los Angeles Duarte Pesantes, the former minister of Rafael Correa who was sentenced to 8 years prison for corruption. The former official has been a refugee in the Argentine embassy in Quito since August 2020.

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry summoned this Tuesday the 13th the Argentine ambassador in the Ecuadorian capital, Gabriel Fuchsto explain the reasons why the government headed by Alberto Fernández continues to press for the safe-conduct for the former official that would allow her to travel to Buenos Aires.

Through a statement, the Foreign Minister of Ecuador, Juan Carlos Holguín, thus rejected the letter sent to him by his Argentine counterpart, Santiago Cafiero, in which he requested this Monday the 12th that the situation be decided in the next 48 hours. “Ecuador rejects any attempt to put terms or conditions on an issue that requires a meticulous legal analysis,” said the statement in its second paragraph.

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