Ecuador tells US envoy to leave after WikiLeaks row

The government of Ecuador announced on Tuesday it has declared the US ambassador to the country persona non grata and demanded she leave because of the furor surrounding diplomatic cables - released by WikiLeaks and published in EL PAÍS - about alleged police corruption.

Ambassador Heather Hodges was told to leave Ecuador as soon as possible, said Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño, according to the Quito daily La Hora.

Patiño clarified that Hodges was not being expelled.

President Rafael Correa's government took the action after a meeting between Patiño and Hodges in which the American envoy "didn't offer any satisfactory [explanation]" over the cables, the foreign minister said.

The cables, published by EL PAÍS yesterday, state that Correa knew that one of his police commanders, Jaime Aquilino Hurtado, was corrupt but decided to keep him on because he could "be easily manipulated."

The cables also stated that the US government planned on revoking US visas for the former police commander, Hurtado's wife and his daughters.

At a news conference, Patiño said that the order against Hodges was not to be considered an action against the United States government, but rather "only against an official who has made serious charges." He said that Hodges told him "there was nothing to say" because the cables had been stolen.

There had been no reaction by Washington at press time.