Scott, Colleagues Demand Biden Admin Hold Former Ecuadorean President Correa Accountable for Corruption, Human Rights Abuses

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Tim Scott (R, S.C.), member of the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, joined Senator Jim Risch (R-Idaho), ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and Senators Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), Bill Hagerty (R-Tenn.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) on a letter to President Biden asking him to hold accountable the former President Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado of Ecuador for his involvement in acts of significant corruption and violations of internationally recognized human rights in Ecuador.

“On April 7, 2020, Ecuador’s National Court of Justice sentenced Mr. Correa to eight years in prison for bribery in the corruption case “Briberies, 2012-2016.”  The court found Mr. Correa to be the leader and mastermind of a “criminal structure” that included his Vice President Jorge Glas and 18 other senior government and business associates,” wrote the senators. “Mr. Correa also has a proven record of violating internationally recognized human rights while in office. According to Freedom House, Mr. Correa ‘oversaw attacks on judicial independence, press freedoms, and other civil liberties’ during his presidency.” 

“In 2018, Mr. Correa was indicted in a criminal case for ordering the kidnapping of an opposition leader. Despite Ecuador’s extradition request of Mr. Correa to face these charges, he continues to travel freely between Europe and Latin America, including frequent trips to meet with U.S.-sanctioned officials of the narco-terrorist regime in Venezuela,” the senators continued.

“Congress has demonstrated it is in the interest of the United States for Ecuador to preserve its independent democratic institutions and strengthen its economic prosperity. We recommend you support such interest by using the tools available to you under Presidential Proclamation 7750 and Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related programs Appropriations Act to hold Mr. Correa accountable for his involvement in acts of significant corruption and violations of internationally recognized human rights in Ecuador,” the senators concluded.

Full text of the letter can be found here and below: 

Dear President Biden,

Congress is pursuing bipartisan legislative efforts to deepen bilateral relations with Ecuador, which has made significant progress since 2017 to strengthen its democratic institutions and promote economic growth.  We believe you should reinforce these bipartisan measures by immediately holding accountable the former President of Ecuador, Rafael Vicente Correa Delgado, for his involvement in acts of significant corruption and violations of internationally recognized human rights in Ecuador.

On April 7, 2020, Ecuador’s National Court of Justice sentenced Mr. Correa to eight years in prison for bribery in the corruption case “Briberies, 2012-2016.”  The court found Mr. Correa to be the leader and mastermind of a “criminal structure” that included his Vice President Jorge Glas and 18 other senior government and business associates.  Specifically, Mr. Correa and his network accepted millions of dollars in illicit payments from local and foreign entities like Odebrecht, the Brazilian firm at the center of Latin America’s largest modern corruption scheme, in exchange for illegally awarding major government contracts for Ecuador’s critical infrastructure and natural resources, including within state oil company Petroecuador.

In September 2022, the Ministry of Foreign Relations of Ecuador shared a report by the Commission on Government Oversight of the National Assembly of Ecuador with the U.S. government revealing details of an international corruption scheme between the government of Mr. Correa and China’s state-owned oil and gas company PetroChina.

Mr. Correa also has a proven record of violating internationally recognized human rights while in office.  According to Freedom House, Mr. Correa “oversaw attacks on judicial independence, press freedoms, and other civil liberties” during his presidency.  The State Department’s 2015 Ecuador Human Rights Report attests that Mr. Correa sanctioned and censored independent media and journalists, shut down independent civil society organizations, and restricted freedoms of press, speech, and assembly.

In 2018, Mr. Correa was indicted in a criminal case for ordering the kidnapping of an opposition leader.  Despite Ecuador’s extradition request of Mr. Correa to face these charges, he continues to travel freely between Europe and Latin America, including frequent trips to meet with U.S.-sanctioned officials of the narco-terrorist regime in Venezuela.

Congress has demonstrated it is in the interest of the United States for Ecuador to preserve its independent democratic institutions and strengthen its economic prosperity.  We recommend you support such interest by using the tools available to you under Presidential Proclamation 7750 and Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations and Related programs Appropriations Act to hold Mr. Correa accountable for his involvement in acts of significant corruption and violations of internationally recognized human rights in Ecuador.

We look forward to your response.

Sincerely,