Ecuador’s Ex-President Correa on Trial for Kick-Back Scheme

HAVANA TIMES – Rafael Correa, the former president of Ecuador, is set to be tried in absentia on Monday, with prosecutors accusing him and other high-ranking politicians and business people of running a bribery operation.

Correa, Ecuador’s head of state between 2007 and 2017, is accused of involvement in an illegal scheme that saw his centre-left PAIS Alliance taking more than 7 million dollars in bribes in exchange for lucrative public works contracts, prosecutors say.

Correa is currently living in self-imposed exile in Belgium and will not appear before the court. In a video recently posted on Twitter he referred to the legal proceedings against him as a “big farce.”

The former president contributed to stability in Ecuador during his tenure and gained popularity with generous health and social programs. However, he was accused by his successor Lenin Moreno of leaving the country highly endebted. 

Correa fell out with Moreno, his former VP, after leaving office and is reportedly harboring ambitions of a political comeback.