Secretary Clinton Falters in Ecuador
Ray Walser /
Many feel Secretary of State Hillary Clinton went overboard while visiting Quito on June 8 and courting populist President Rafael Correa. Reported The New York Times, “Clinton woos a Leftist President, while Foreign Policy observed ‘Dearest Hillary’ charms Ecuador’s President Correa.
Before the Secretary traveled to Quito, veteran diplomat Roger Noriega warned:
The high-level visit to Quito is clearly part of a charm offensive to coax Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa out of the camp of Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chávez. However, no rapprochement is worth asking Secretary Clinton to turn a blind eye to Correa’s authoritarian style, his abuse of the courts to attack opponents and the media and his tolerance of drug trafficking and other corruption.