Ecuador’s Supreme Court has ordered the arrest of former President Rafael Correa after he was sentenced to eight years in prison for his involvement in a bribery scandal. Arrest warrants have also been placed for former Vice President Jorge Glas, and other senior officials within the Correa administration, including Alexis Mera, María de los Ángeles Duarte, and Viviana Bonilla.
Judge Iván León has also informed the National Electoral Council (CNE) that Correa cannot stand in any elections for the next eight years, in order to ensure that he sees out his sentence in full. President Lenin Moreno has also ordered that Correa be made ineligible to receive his lifetime pension or monthly stipend, which amounts to $4,200 per month.
The Supreme Court, known as the National Court of Justice (CNJ), also ruled that Correa and his co-conspirators must engage in “symbolic reparation measures” at the Independence Square in the nation’s capital, Quito.
Additionally, they will be required to lay a plaque at the Presidential Palace that reads: “Public resources must always be honestly administered. Public service is nothing other than a service to the community and is subject to ethical principles.”
Correa is currently living in exile in Belgium and thus Ecuadorian authorities have asked their Belgian counterparts to comply with the supreme court’s request to extradite him back to Ecuador. In fact, he was actually sentenced in April, but his arrest warrant was issued only this week.
The former President ruled from 2007 to 2017 and was found guilty of accepting bribes to award government contracts. Correa had earlier stated his intent to run for vice-president in the nation’s upcoming elections in February. However, he has now been barred from holding a position in public office.
Moreover, incumbent president Lenin Moreno has also indicated his resolve to implement a law that would institute a two-term limit on the Presidency.
Correa, for his part, has described these moves by the Moreno administration as politically motivated measures that aim to stop him from running in next year’s elections and thereby consolidate the incumbent president’s power.
Ecuador Supreme Court Orders Arrest of Former President Rafael Correa
The former President ruled from 2007 to 2017 and was found guilty of accepting bribes to award lucrative government contracts.
September 25, 2020
IMAGE SOURCE: APFormer Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa