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Ecuador reshuffles its army and police leadership

Ecuador shook up its army and police leadership on Wednesday, the political fallout from a Colombian raid that shattered the president’s trust in his security forces.

Ecuadoran President Rafael Correa had even alleged that the CIA had infiltrated Ecuador’s intelligence agencies.

The leftist president demanded the resignations of Ecuadoran Defense Minister Wellington Sandoval and the national police director in the intelligence and security purge. Two other top military commanders offered to resign on Wednesday.

In an incident that is sure to aggravate tensions with Colombia, Deputy Defense Minister Miguel Carvajal said a Colombian military helicopter violated Ecuadoran air space on Wednesday. He said it flew 3km inside Ecuador at a point about 140km northeast of Quito.

Carvajal said the helicopter returned without incident to Colombia. He downplayed the incident, recalling that an Ecuadoran helicopter had inadvertently crossed into Colombian airspace a few days ago.

Correa is outraged that military intelligence apparently advised Colombian officials — but not him — about an Ecuadoran man’s contacts with Colombian rebels. The man was killed by the Colombian military in a cross-border raid last month on a camp maintained by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.

After angrily denouncing his death, the president said he had to learn from media reports that Ecuador’s own intelligence services had been monitoring the man and knew of his alleged links to the guerrillas for years.

Last week, Correa demanded a probe as well as the resignation of the head of army intelligence.

“Ecuador’s intelligence systems are totally infiltrated and subjugated to the CIA,” he said last Friday in a TV interview.

Army commander General Guillermo Vasconez, who on Wednesday offered to step down along with Joint Chiefs commander General Hector Camacho, said that Correa had not shown trust in his leaders.

He denied the allegations of foreign infiltration, saying: “Our attitude has always been the defense of our sovereignty.”

Correa also demanded that national police commander General Bolivar Cisneros resign.

He named Javier Ponce, a journalist who had been serving as his personal secretary, as the new defense minister.

The changes do not signify “a witch hunt but a healthy, critical process and the exercise of transparency,” Ponce said after being sworn in.

Correa’s attacks and the prospect of a probe apparently provoked discontent in military circles.

On Tuesday, the armed forces joint command said it had requested to meet the president to “maintain a direct and transparent dialogue” on the issue and “avoid putting at risk the nation’s security and stability.”
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