Quito’s Police: CIA breeding ground

Rebellious elements within Ecuadorian police seize Quito International Airport, 30 September 2010.

“I applied and was accepted at the Escuela superior de policía de Quito, and studied there from September 1992 to August 1995.”
Guy Philippe, speaking to Peter Hallward about his background prior to leading an armed insurgency that contributed to the removal of Haiti’s elected president, Jean Bertrand Aristide.

The report made clear that the Ecuadoran Police “maintain informal economic dependence on the United States, to pay for informants, training, equipment and operations.”

The systematic use of corruption techniques by the CIA in order to acquire the “goodwill” of police officers was described and denounced on many occasions by the ex-CIA agent Philip Agee who, before leaving the agency’s ranks, was assigned to the U.S. Embassy in Quito.

In his official report, distributed at the end of October 2008, the Ecuadoran Defense Minister Javier Ponce revealed how U.S. diplomats dedicated themselves to the corruption of the police as well as officers from the armed forces.

In confirmation, the leadership of the Ecuadoran police then announced that it would sanction any of its agents who collaborated with the United States, while the U.S. Embassy claimed “transparency” in its support of Ecuador.

Heather M. Hodges, U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador since January 2008.

“We work with the Ecuadoran government, with the military, with the Police, on objectives that are very important for security,” said the U.S. Ambassador in Quito, Heather Hodges.

However, the diplomat told journalists that she would not comment “on intelligence matters.”

For her part, the public affairs officer, Marta Youth, categorically refused to comment on the Ecuadoran government’s denunciations, which included complaints about CIA participation in an operation with Colombia that led to a military attack by the Colombian military against FARC guerrillas on Ecuadoran territory on March 1st of that year.

The head of Army intelligence, Mario Pazmiño, had been removed for concealing information related to the attack on the FARC.

In recent months, U.S. officials have appeared in Ecuador under the pretext of extending relations between Ecuador and the United States. Arturo Valenzuela, the U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, repeatedly visited President Correa, leading up to a visit from Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

Valenzuela was accompanied by Todd Stern, “Climate Change Envoy,” also known for his CIA ties.