At an event at the Universidad Andina, the US ambassador, Michael Fitzpatrick, criticized the Ecuadorian justice system and the advance of drug trafficking in the country. Foreign Minister Holguín defends binational cooperation.
Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín with the United States Ambassador to Ecuador, Michael Fitzpatrick, during the visit of the Secretary of Security, Alejandro Mayorkas, on December 7, 2022.
The Ecuadorian justice system was again questioned by the United States. His ambassador in Ecuador, Michael Fitzpatrick, harshly criticized the matter and the advance of drug trafficking in the country.
He does it a year after the interview he gave to PRIMICIAS, about his concern about the presence of ‘ narco generals ‘ in Ecuador.
At the event ‘International Day: Anti-Corruption Initiatives’, held by the Andean University, the US diplomat stated that the fight between the cartels is not only for the control of routes and ports for drugs, but also for power in justice.
Hence, he questioned the judicial system, and even ironized the process in the days of Pablo Escobar. “Can someone explain to me why a suspect must be formally notified of the opening of a case in the middle of the investigation stage,” he said.
In this regard, Foreign Minister Juan Carlos Holguín highlighted the joint work against this problem. “We have important cooperation with the United States in this fight,” he said in an interview with Teleamazonas.
“A few days ago we had the visit of ambassadors from Belgium and the Netherlands, and in The Hague we held a meeting with Europol, to analyze the phenomenon of transnational criminal structures, which eats away at conventional power structures,” Holguín said.
According to the foreign minister, there is a look of unity, in the international community, to strengthen the justice systems of Ecuador, which -he added- requires “immediate strengthening”, in relation to the structures of drug and people trafficking, as well as in the borders.
It also involved the structures behind risky migration and illegal mining. These “belong to the same criminal structures,” he emphasized.
Holguín questioned, for example, the release of Luis Alfredo A., alias ‘Gordo Luis’, leader of Los Lobos and one of those involved in the murder of the director of the El Inca prison, Santiago Loza.
“That damages all objective and technical work of the public force,” he said.
Holguín and Fitzpatrick agreed that the referendum proposal, on the extradition of people linked to drug trafficking, is a way out against impunity.
“There are people who have arrest warrants in the United States for drug trafficking and who cannot be extradited, because when President (Rafael) Correa led the country, he constitutionally shielded drug criminals from being extradited,” recalled the foreign minister.
