Ecuador says CIA infiltrated its military

Ecuador says CIA infiltrated its military

 

Fri 31 Oct 2008, 2:05 GMT

QUITO (Reuters) - Ecuador charged on Thursday the CIA infiltrated its military and knew of a Colombian military raid against rebels in Ecuadorean territory -- accusations that could fray ties with Washington.

A U.S. embassy spokeswoman in Quito declined to comment on the charges.

Defence Minister Javier Ponce said the CIA knew of the Colombian attack before the Ecuadorean government from agents inside its military.

"The CIA had full knowledge of what was happening in Angostura," Ponce told reporters, referring to the border hamlet where Colombia troops killed a top leftist rebel leader in March.

The raid, which also killed other 24 people, briefly raised the threat of war after Ecuador and Venezuela sent soldiers and tanks to their borders with Colombia. Nerves calmed quickly in a regional meeting a week later but Ecuador and Colombia still have not mended diplomatic ties since the attack.

Ecuador's latest accusation makes it more difficult for Quito to restore diplomatic ties with U.S.-ally Colombia.

President Rafael Correa, a popular leftist and ally of U.S. foe Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, has said the CIA controls some of his country's spy units and launched a military probe that raised tensions with the country's powerful army.

The U.S.-trained economist has mainly kept good ties with the United States, but is often critical of President George W. Bush, once saying he was dumber than the devil.

Correa has vowed not to renew a lease on an air base used by U.S. troops for anti-drug operations which expires in 2009.

In a recent visit to Quito, a Russian security official said the Kremlin was open to helping Ecuador's intelligence as part of a broader plan to improve ties with Latin America.

(Reporting by Jose Llangari and Alexandra Valencia; editing by Alan Elsner)

© Reuters 2008. All Rights Reserved.

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