Ecuador expel Venezuelan ambassador for offenses against president

[Blexfraptor]

The Ecuadorian Foreign Ministry announced on Thursday the expulsion of the Venezuelan ambassador, Carol Delgado, for "offensive" comments against President Lenin Moreno expressed by the Minister of Communication and Information of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez.

"Faced with the offensive expressions formulated yesterday (Wednesday) by the Minister of Communication and Information of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Jorge Rodríguez, against the Ecuadorian president, Lenín Moreno Garcés, the National Government has decided to expel from our country to the ambassador of Venezuela in Ecuador, "the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Rodriguez accused Moreno of lying about the number of Venezuelans who have arrived in Ecuador fleeing the economic crisis in their country. "I heard a president of this continent with stupor because I can not believe that you can be such a liar (...) I heard a president say, that his country was entering daily, I mean Ecuador, 6,000 Venezuelans with diseases", Rodriguez said Wednesday at a press conference.

The Foreign Ministry indicated that the Ecuadorian government "will not tolerate any sign of disrespect for its authorities", but that "it will continue to provide assistance to Venezuelan citizens who enter" its territory.

For its part, the government of President Nicolás Maduro responded the same day in a statement that was "forced to take reciprocal action against the charge of business of Ecuador in Venezuela, Elizabeth Méndez, who is declared persona non grata and has 72 hours to leave the country. "