Military takes control in Ecuador after soldiers rescue president

ECUADOR was under a state of siege yesterday, the streets quiet with the military in charge of public order, after soldiers rescued President Rafael Correa from a hospital where he’d been surrounded by police who roughed him up and tear-gassed him earlier.

Correa and his ministers called Thursday’s revolt – in which insurgents also paralysed the nation with airport shutdowns and highway blockades – an attempt to overthrow him and not just a simple insurrection by angry security force members over a new law that would cut benefits for public servants.

The region’s presidents quickly showed their support for Correa, rushing to a meeting in Buenos Aires yesterday and condemning what many called a coup attempt and kidnapping of Correa. The US also warned those who threaten Ecuador’s democracy that the leftist Correa has Washington’s full support.