In the continuation of the post-Assange Ecuadoran crackdown, a judge on Friday signed an order to detain the nation’s former Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino, who is accused of having ties to Assange.
It isn’t clear what Patino is to be charged with, but he is accused of
being part of an Assange-related plot and knowing Swedish hacker Ola
Bini, who Ecuador also recently arrested. It may not ultimately matter,
however, as Patino had the foresight to have fled the country on
Wednesday.
Partino has been critical of President Moreno, and that seems to be the
center of his move against him.Though his whereabouts are unknown,
Ecuador indicated that are putting out an Interpol red notice for his
capture.
The Moreno government’s recent handover of Assange was seen as part of
an effort to please the US and ensure IMF support. This could easily
also be an aspect of that, as Patino was a big part of the past
government’s policies that soured the US on Ecuador in the first place.
Ecuador Judge Orders Detention of Former Foreign Minister Connected to Assange
Former FM believed to have fled the country days ago
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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