Ecuador's president Rafael Correa fires back, slamming Washington Post editorial

He's canceling his subscription

Guadalajara -
Like most of the American press, the Washington Post has been far more preoccupied with playing the Where in the World is Edward Snowden? game in recent days than focusing on the former security contractor's disturbing disclosures about massive National Security Agency snooping and metadata gathering programs. Their stats likely tell them that's what most subscribers want to read.

But on Monday, the Pest Post really took off the gloves. Perhaps beleaguered U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who's been rattling sabers at China, Russia, Venezuela and Ecuador - all with no effect - asked for some help.

Some choice tidbits from the paper's editorial of June 24:

"When it comes to anti-American chutzpah, there’s no beating Rafael Correa, the autocratic leader of tiny, impoverished Ecuador. Taking in Mr. Snowden would allow Mr. Correa to advance his most cherished ambition: replacing the deceased Hugo Chavez as the hemisphere’s preeminent anti-U.S. demagogue."

And referring to a U.S.-Ecuadorian trade deal - highly preferential to the latter - which coincidentally expires in July, the editorial board drew a not very diplomatic line of sorts in the sand: "If Mr. Correa welcomes Mr. Snowden, there will be an easy way to demonstrate that Yanqui-baiting has its price."

Well, no Latin male I have ever met could have been expected to take such comments laying down, and president Correa did not disappoint.

Via his Twitter account today, the hot-headed Ecuadorian commander in chief replied just as bluntly:

"What nerve! The audacity of the century! The Washington Post accuses us of a double standard.

"All of the attention is being focused on Snowden and the 'evil countries' which are trying to help him, while they try to make everyone forget the terrible things being done against the American people, and the international commmunity. The world order today is not merely unjust, it is immoral."

Both the president and his foreign minister continue to insist that Ecuador is "carefully considering" Snowden's request for political asylum, and will arrive at a decision soon. They'd better, since those short stay airport executive suites can get very expensive. Putin says Snowden is still in Russia, but not really.

About that line in the sand - will Rafael Correa have the cojones to cross it? We may know before the week is out.

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