Security & Strategic Review February 2009 (ISSN 1741-4202)

ECUADOR-US | Diplomats expelled over 'interference'. On 7 February, President Rafael Correa ordered the expulsion of US embassy attaché Armando Astorga. This followed a letter sent by Astorga to the head of the Ecuadorean police General Jaime Hurtado, in which he said that the US was cancelling its logistical and training support for the anti-smuggling unit (Coac) of the national police. In the letter Astorga said that the US aid that he was cancelling was worth US$340,000 a year. Astorga also demanded the return of material provided by the US to the police.