Some people wonder why I've shown so much interest -- almost 30 posts to date -- in the 16-year-old lawsuit Chevron Corporation has been battling in Ecuador. Aside from the fact that Chevron stands to lose as much as $27 billion if an Ecuadoran judge rules in favor of the plaintiff, part of my interest stems from the fact that a thick cloud of corruption surrounds Rafael Correa, a man who has been mentioned in a half-dozen posts (including the one you're reading). And so I bring more news about the president of the South American banana republic country that bolsters my support of the San Ramon, Calif.-based oil giant.
In Ecuador at Risk: Drugs, Thugs, Guerrillas and the Citizens Revolution, a 77-page report issued yesterday by the International Assessment and Strategy Center, Senior Fellows Douglas Farah and Glenn Simpson outline the problems evident in Ecuador. For instance, they highlight the pressing challenges facing the Correa administration:
- Credible charges that his campaign received funds generated by the sale of cocaine from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia-FARC);
- Strong evidence that senior members of his government have supported the armed insurgency that has been designated a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union;
- Evidence that members of his inner circle had direct contact with transnational drug trafficking organizations tied to the FARC;
- Strong indications that the judiciary remains deeply corrupt, including the freeing of important drug traffickers who have been caught escorting loads of cocaine;
- Persistent accusations from his older brother (who ran his presidential campaign's finances) that members of his inner circle are engaged in extensive corrupt business practices;
- Strong evidence that the Correa government has illegally manipulated the international debt bond markets to benefit itself and the Venezuelan government;
- Increasing drug trafficking and organized crime, largely but not exclusively attributable to the FARC that have led one government commission to lament that Ecuador is on the verge of becoming a "narco-state;" and
- Constant and internationally condemned attacks on the media and efforts to curb freedom of expression, in large part because the private media are among the few levers of power and influence Correa and the AP (National Alliance, the party of Correa) do not control.
Add the presence of Russian and Chinese organized crime groups, friendship with Iranian banking interests and chummy relationships with Venezuela's Hugo Chavez and Bolivia's Eve Morales, and you can see why Ecuador might best be described in less-than-flattering terms.
To learn more about it, I strongly recommend you read the report, Ecuador at Risk: Drugs, Thugs, Guerrillas and the Citizens Revolution, and share it.