Ecuadorians have rejected the ‘narco trial,’ Salazar says, after Assembly votes to end impeachment

Attorney General Diana Salazar said late Tuesday that a “burden has been lifted” from her shoulders following a vote by the full National Assembly to permanently end efforts by the Citizens Revolution party to stage an impeachment trial against her.

The Monday night meeting of the National Assembly’s Oversight Commission turned chaotic before members voted to end impeachment efforts against Attorney General Diana Salazar.

Although the Assembly’s Oversight Commission voted Monday night against bringing Salazar to trial for “dereliction of duties,” the issue was put to bed for good in a special session of the full Assembly Tuesday. The vote to end impeachment efforts, and to prevent the Oversight Commission from considering it again, was 76 to 45. Only members of Citizens Revolution voted against the motion.

“This entire effort was driven by political interests and had nothing to do with my job of enforcing the laws of Ecuador,” Salazar said. “There were some members of the National Assembly addicted, like drug addicts, to the mission of putting me to trial and I am pleased that there will be no narco trial and I can finally put this distraction behind me.”

Salazar added that the Assembly vote reflected the opinion of the Ecuadorian people, not just Assembly members. “The people are tired of corruption and organized crime and their attempt to take over the country through judicial and legislative means, and today’s vote reflected this position,” she said.

César Umajinga, SUMA party Assemblyman and Oversight Commission member, said it was “about time” that the Assembly put an end to impeachment effort against Salazar. “This has become an obsession for the Correistas and, as we all know, obsessions are not healthy,” he said.

“Let’s be clear,” he added: “The prosecution of Salazar by Citizens Revolution was all about Rafael Correa and the fact she proved him and other members of his government guilty of corruption. For years, the Correistas have had a single-minded focus of reversing those convictions and bringing Correa back from exile. It was a selfish mission that ignored the real needs of the Ecuadorian people.”

In her Monday night statement, Salazar said she is “renewing my commitment” to work for the benefit of all Ecuadorians. “In the remainder of my term as Attorney General, I am focusing on the important thing, which is fighting the criminal structures that have done so much damage, and intend to do more damage, to Ecuador.”

Salazar’s six-year term as Attorney General ends in April 2025.