Call the State Department and White House! Your call could make a difference!
We have received reports that a coup is taking place in Ecuador. The situation is in flux. There are reports that President Rafael Correa disappeared after meeting with the police but other reports say he is in the hospital surrounded by police after a tear gas attack. All the airports are closed; the Congress has been taken over by the police; banks are closed.
TeleSur reports that the Ecuadoran government has declared a state of emergency for 5 days and the military is supporting the government. Cesár Rodríguez, Vice President of the National Assembly reports that President Correa is in the hospital and that the rebel police are attempting to gain access to him, presumably to assassinate him.
There is still hope, however, that that the coup can be stopped in its tracks. The top army commander in Ecuador says the military remains loyal to President Correa.
Call the State Department and the White House Comment line and tell them to make a statement that the US will cut off all military, police and development aid to Ecuador if the coup is carried to completion
This coup in Ecuador, the second ALBA country now to suffer a coup, is the direct result of the US government support for the June 28, 2010, coup in Honduras. We cannot allow our government to again support anti-democratic forces in Latin America.
Contacts:
Contact Senators and Representatives!
To contact the State Department:
Fax: 202-647-0834, Voice: 202 647-7512, or Email: Maria Otero, Under Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, c/o Laura Pena, Assistant, [email protected]
Dr. Arturo Valenzuela, Assist. Sec. of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs: [email protected]; Ambassador Craig Kelly, Principal Deputy Asst./ Secretary, Western Office of Hemisphere Affairs: [email protected] (Fax: 202-647-0834)
To contact White House:
White House email, or comment Line 202-456-1414; Dan Restrepo, Special Asst. to the President, Western Hemisphere Affairs, [email protected]
