Group asks attorney general to prevent Correa from leaving the country pending investigations

The leftist political party Unidad Popular (UP) has asked the attorney general’s office to prevent former president Rafael Correa from leaving the country. Correa arrived in Ecuador Saturday morning from his home in Belgium and is scheduled to leave December 4 or 5.

Former president Rafael Correa

UP director Geovanni Atarihuana submitted his petition Monday morning, claiming that Correa should be detained pending results of investigations of Odebrecht and Petrochina transactions with the government. In addition, Atarihuana says Correa should be held on grounds that he interfered with Ecuador’s justice system and falsified the external debt while he was president.

According to Atarihuana and UP assistant director Natasha Rojas, the prosecutor’s office should act quickly to prevent Correa’s departure and outfit the ex-president with a gps ankle bracelet.

“We believe that criminal acts occurred during the presidency of Rafael Correa and that he should remain in the country until the investigations are completed,” Atarihuana said.

Rojas said that UP, which calls itself a “revolutionary Marxist-Leninist movement,” and the Unitary Workers Front will take to the streets of Quito, Cuenca, Guayaquil on Wednesday to demand that Correa face justice. “Those who have taken advantage of their public offices are not exempt from law,” she said.

Former National Assemblyman César Montúfar said Monday that he may also file a petition with the attorney general’s office asking that Correa be required to remain in country. Montúfar claims that Correa should be held accountable for installing Vice President Jorge Glas to oversee the country’s energy sector.