Rafael Correa supports Ambassador in Peru

Rafael Correa

The President of Ecuador, Rafael Correa, defended the decision of his Government to maintain Rodrigo Riofrio as the Ecuadorian Ambassador in Peru, who was denounced by Peruvian Cristina Castro for being insulted and beaten along with his daughter by Riofrío while they were shopping at a supermarket in Lima, in the Magdalena district.

“We have sent the Deputy Foreign Minister. We have the police report. It explains that the Ambassador was assaulted and abused”, said the President during a public activity.

Politicians in several sectors of Peru said that the Government of Ecuador should reconsider its decision of not  withdrawing its Ambassador. The Chairman of the Committee of Foreign Relations of the Congress, Víctor García, said that the Ecuadorian Ambassador “is not suitable for performing a good management in Lima” after assaulting two women. “Here the procedures used by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs have not been adequate, because they have publicly asked for the withdrawal (of the Ambassador) when it has to be done by internal ways”, Garcia told the portal elcomercio.pe.

The Peruvian Foreign Ministry made public today by an official statement that he has called its Ambassador in Quito, Javier Leon, in the same way the Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry did with Riofrio. Official spokesman, Jaime Delgado, said that the disposition of the Government of Ecuador “is not a very relevant decision” and said that Riofrio has lost authority and his attitude was not appropriate for the circumstances.