Washington wants “regime change” in Ecuador: “What is the CIA planning before Ecuador’s 2017 elections?”
Global Research, September 15, 2015
The United States does not lack institutions that continue to
conspire, and that’s why I am using this gathering to announce that we
have decided to expel USAID from Bolivia” Bolivian President Evo Morales
Washington wants Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa removed from
power. Washington says it is concerned about the freedom of the press in
Ecuador because their non-government organization ‘Fundamedios’ funded
and supported by United States Agency for International Development
(USAID), the National Endowment for Democracy (NED) and Freedom House
among others is in the process of being shut down by the Correa
government. According to Telesur’s report on September 10th “Fundamedios
engaged “partisan political activities” by sharing material on its
social media accounts, publishing articles unrelated to its stated
mission and inserting itself into political debates in the country”which according to the National Secretariat of Communication or ‘Secom’ is prohibited under Ecuadorian law. The White House released a press statement on the same day:
We are very concerned about the increasing
restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of association in
Ecuador, particularly the Ecuadorian government’s September 8 decision
to initiate legal steps intended to dissolve Fundamedios, a
non-governmental organization that monitors and defends press freedom.
An active civil society and tolerance of dissenting views are
vital components of any democracy. We share international concern over
the Ecuadorian government’s efforts to silence critical voices and deny
its citizens access to a diversity of information and ideas. Freedom
House, Human Rights Watch, the Committee to Protect Journalists, among
others, have all spoken out in opposition to the government’s latest
action against Fundamedios.
According to TeleSur ‘Fundamedios’ is funded by the NED and USAID:
The work of the organization mostly consists of
issuing “alerts” regarding alleged attacks against journalists in
Ecuador. The organization is funded in part through a US$84,000 grant
from the U.S.-funded National Endowment for Democracy. U.S. Ambassador
to Ecuador Adam Namm told El Telegrafo that Fundamedios received
US$300,000 in 2012 from USAID, which is receives its funds from the U.S.
government
USAID and NED are in the business of “Democracy Promotion” which
uses public money (from U.S. taxpayers) for secretive operations with
the intention to support pro-U.S. governments with the help of political
and social movements abroad. The goal is regime change.
Why Washington wants Correa Removed from Power
Since 2009, the world has seen what the Obama administration has done
to sovereign nations in the name of democracy. Libya, Honduras and the
Ukraine are some of the recent examples of U.S. foreign policy that has
only proved to be disastrous on many levels. Ecuador would be added to
Obama’s list of countries ripe for regime change.
First, Correa is a staunch ally of Latin America’s leftist
governments of Bolivia, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Argentina and Brazil who
are critical of U.S. Foreign policy. What makes matters worse for
Washington was the closure of the Manta Air Force Base in 2009, a
promise made by Correa in a 2006 campaign.
Washington wants a new government in Ecuador to reopen the Manta Air Force Base for surveillance and the so-called “War on Drugs”. In
2008, the New York Times reported that President Correa fired high
ranking military officials who were loyal subjects of Washington:
Mr. Correa — who this month dismissed his defense
minister, army chief of intelligence and commanders of the army, air
force and joint chiefs — said that Ecuador’s intelligence systems were
“totally infiltrated and subjugated to the C.I.A.” He accused senior
military officials of sharing intelligence with Colombia, the Bush
administration’s top ally in Latin America
The New York Times admitted that Correa’s administration is a challenge for U.S. policy makers regarding the “War on Drugs” and its presence in Latin America:
The gambit also poses a clear challenge to the United
States. For nearly a decade, the base here in Manta has been the most
prominent American military outpost in South America and an important
facet of the United States’ drug-fighting efforts. Some 100
antinarcotics flights leave here each month to survey the Pacific in an
elaborate cat-and-mouse game with drug traffickers bound for the United
States.
But many Ecuadoreans have chafed at the American presence and the
perceived challenge to the country’s sovereignty, and Mr. Correa
promised during his campaign in 2006 to close the outpost
Reuters’ also reported in 2007 what Correa had said about the possibility of renewing the lease to the U.S. military“We’ll
renew the base on one condition: that they let us put a base in Miami —
an Ecuadorean base,” Correa said in an interview during a trip to
Italy. “If there’s no problem having foreign soldiers on a country’s
soil, surely they’ll let us have an Ecuadorean base in the United
States.” Correa did make a good point.
Another reason Correa is on Washington’s “hit list” involves
Wikileaks. Its founder Julian Assange was granted political asylum in
an Ecuadorian embassy in London because he feared that if he ended up in
U.S. custody over the secret files he released from Chelsea Manning to
the world, could have him face an unfair trial in a U.S. courtroom.
Ecuador granted Assange political asylum status where he still remains
to this day. Neoconservative and former Presidential contender Sarah
Palin said that Assange is an “anti-American operative with blood on
his hands…Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al
Qaeda and Taliban leaders?” Palin was saying that Julian Assange is
in the same league as Al Qaeda so killing him is justified. Ecuador did
take a stand to protect the life and liberty of Julian Assange,
something Washington does not take lightly.
Ecuador’s Lawsuit against Big Oil
Litigation and various lawsuits against Chevron-Texaco has been going
on for more than two decades which oil drilling operations which
occurred between 1972 and 1990 in the Amazon as RT News reported in 2013:
Ecuador’s foreign ministry announced on Friday that
the US has seemingly denied visas to a delegation that was set to travel
to the UN General Assembly in New York to present their case regarding
an ongoing dispute against Chevron-Texaco. According to the ministry’s
official announcement, the visas for the five Ecuadorian nationals were
returned by the US Embassy in Quito “without any explanation.”
That group was to present testimony during a special event at the
UN regarding the ecological impact caused by Chevron-Texaco’s oil
operations in the Amazon rainforest region of Ecuador – which
contaminated two million hectares, according to the country’s
government. At stake is a US$19 billion judgment awarded by an
Ecuadorean court against Chevron for cleanup and ecological damage,
which is currently being fought at The Hague.
Correa in Washington’s Crosshairs
From alliances with anti-Washington governments to the closure of the
Manta Air Force Base, to protecting Julian Assange and a lawsuit
against Chevron-Texaco for environmental damages to the Amazon, Correa
is a target for regime change. Just remember back in history when the
CIA orchestrated a coup against Ecuadorian President Carlos Julio
Arosemena simply because he criticized the U.S. government and supported
the Cuban revolution led by Fidel Castro. Correa has done a lot more to
diminish U.S. power in Latin America than any other president in its
current history.
Correa has accused the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) earlier this year of “being
increasingly involved in the political opposition with the avowed aim
of dragging the country into chaos” and weaken the Ecuadorian government
by “a series of coordinated nationwide protests.” Something Correa
should be familiar with, after all the CIA attempted a coup in 2010
under Obama’s watch. One of the key reasons of the attempted coup by the
Ecuadorian police was the Public Service Organic Law signed in 2010. It
was designed to place regulations on public service workers namely the
police and military and create a standard base of compensation instead
of receiving their bonuses from foreign sources (the U.S. government)
under Ecuadorian law. The main problem before the law was passed
was that the police of Ecuador was receiving bonuses from the US
embassy to spy on Ecuadorian politicians and others who were considered
opponents of Washington.
Interestingly, Presidential hopeful Hillary Clinton was in Ecuador in June of that year to convince Correa to join the“Dark Side” but ultimately failed. U.S. Ambassador at the time was Heather Hodges
who was assigned to disrupt and weaken the Correa government through
USAID which contributed $40 million. The Ecuadorian police, military
officials, USAID, NED, the CIA and a former president and a puppet of
Washington during the Bush years, Lucio Gutiérrez who was ousted by the
Ecuadorian people who demanded his resignation were all behind the coup
plot.
Obama has 16 Months Left in Office
Will the Obama administration authorize another coup between now and
2016? It is Obama’s last 16 months in office since the first coup
attempt. Correa knows he is on Washington’s “hit list” following
his actions on Fundamedios who claim the freedom of speech is
threatened as Washington threatens Julian Assange for exposing their
crimes in Afghanistan and Iraq by killing of tens of thousands of
civilians, which they tried to keep secret. Washington is consistent
when it ignores the sovereignty of nations and bypasses international
law on a regular basis.
Recently, the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador
(Conaie) and various trade unions called for a nationwide strike against
the government, but many indigenous organizations opposed it. Telesur
reported that WikiLeaks published diplomatic cables from the U.S.
embassy in Ecuador from 2005 and 2006 that suggest members of CONAIE
were interested in talking to U. S. Representatives within their own
ranks including Vice President Santiago de la Cruz and Congressman Jorge
Guaman who according to one cable “expressed interest in open dialogue.”Members of CONAIE also “asked the U.S. government to intervene with the president to get Conaie representatives back in these government institutions.” De La Cruz is described as “very interested in the possibility of visiting the U.S. on an exchange program,” and that he “appeared eager to engage in dialogue” with the U.S. Wikileaks also released documents on Auki Tituana, a member of Pachakutik who also seemed interested.
Although representatives in both organizations have shown an interest
in meeting with U.S. officials, other members are not so keen on the
idea including Luis Macas, head of CONAIE. This is a positive sign that
members within these indigenous organizations do not want to meet with
U.S. diplomats. Macas “has advised his organization to avoid dialogue with the U.S. government.” According to the cables “There
appears to be division within the ranks of Pachakutik and (Conaie) on
the level of interaction they should have with the Embassy”.
In 2007, Correa was an anti-neoliberal advocate was voted into power
and has brought Ecuador political and economic stability. One other
issue Washington is concerned about is what Correa said about the “Dollarization” of the Ecuadorian economy; he said it was a “technical error” after
pro-US president Jamil Mahuad adopted the U.S. dollar in 2000. Correa
did acknowledge that it is a difficult process to move out of the U.S.
dollar at this time, however, he does support a regional South American
currency that would allow Ecuador to move out of the dollar which is
something U.S. officials’ do not like to hear especially when the dollar
is about to lose its reserve currency status.
What is the CIA planning before Ecuador’s elections in 2017?
It is important to note that if a presidential recall vote were to
take place in Ecuador today at least 60% of the people would vote for
Correa according to the main-stream media’s ‘CNN Spanish’ poll this past
June. Correa proposed constitutional reforms including two
bills that would increase inheritance and capital gains taxes on the
ultra-wealthy. Anti-government protests followed, which later turned
violent. That is something Washington wants to see more of right before
Ecuador’s 2017 presidential elections.
Reprinted under Fair Use Rules
