Moderator, please delete. This isn't LBN, after all. n/t

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Reuters

Ecuador’s president orders U.S. official expelled
By Alexandra Valencia, Reuters
February 7, 2009

QUITO - Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa ordered a U.S. Embassy official expelled on Saturday after accusing him of interfering in the country’s affairs, a move that will test ties with Washington.

Correa, a leftist, has generally kept good relations with the United States as his socialist allies in Bolivia and Venezuela often clash with Washington over what they say is U.S. "imperialism" in Latin America.

"Foreign minister, give this gentleman 48 hours to pack up his suitcases and get out of the country," Correa said during his weekly media address. "We’re not going to let anyone treat us as if we were a colony here."

He said U.S. official Armando Astorga had abruptly ended a financing agreement with local police after authorities rejected his attempts to handpick officers he wanted to manage the U.S. aid projects.





Read more: http://www.canada.com/Business/Ecuador+president+orders+official+expelled/1265578/story.html