Ecuador’s President Claims He Was Targeted in Failed Coup

By R. Renee Yaworsky
Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

Soldiers guard the presidential palace Friday to maintain order.  (Photo courtesy of Christian Science Monitor)
Soldiers guard the government palace Friday to maintain order. (Photo courtesy of Christian Science Monitor)

QUITO, Ecuador—Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa maintains that he was physically abused and detained against his will during an attempted coup Thursday.  The attack was waged by police officers protesting a new law that they believe would deprive them of bonuses and minimize compensation. Correa argues that the officers had not even read the law and misunderstood it.

The officers became violent after Correa had stood in the window of a barracks and challenged, “If you want to kill the president, here he is! Kill him, if you want to! Kill him if you are brave enough!”

According to Interior Minister Gustavo Jalkh, the officers’ reaction proves they intended to overthrow the government.  “The president was talking with some police who wanted to talk with us. We were talking. Why else would they throw bombs at a politician?” he said.

President Correa was battered by members of the angry group and surrounded by tear gas.  He claims he was not allowed to leave the hospital where he was taken for treatment afterward.  As his military rescued him that night, his SUV was struck by bullets.

At least four people were killed in the violence and over 200 were injured in related bloodshed throughout Ecuador.  Three days of national mourning began on Friday out of respect for the victims.

The government responded quickly to the unrest, declaring a week-long state of emergency and placing armed forces in charge of security.

Correa believes that the police officers who sparked the violence wanted to kill him; yet he says he recognizes the efforts of many others who remained loyal, including the officers who rescued him at the hospital.  The national police force is comprised of 42,000 members.  Their chief resigned on Friday.

No group or individual has admitted any involvement in the alleged coup attempt, but three colonels are being investigated.

Some have questioned Correa’s account of the attack, and others see the president’s confrontation in the barracks as a provocation.  Analyst Roberto Izurieta told CNN, “The elements for a coup do not exist. There was no political movement or a call for the president to leave office. What occurred was an uprising from part of the police.”

On Friday, the government said the law the police officers had been protesting would be revisited.

Correa received support from the international community, including Venezuela’s President Chavez and U.S. Secretary of State Clinton.

Ecuador is no stranger to unrest; three of the last eight presidents lost power after protests.

For more information, please see:

LA Times-Ecuador ‘coup attempt’ draws attention to Rafael Correa’s presidency-4 October 2010

NPR-Foreign Policy: The Power Of Ecuador’s Democracy-4 October 2010

CNN-Ecuador’s government maintains unrest was coup attempt-4 October 2010

Latin American Herald Tribune-Judge Releases 3 Colonels Arrested in Ecuador Policy Mutiny-3 October 2010

Author: Impunity Watch Archive