THE GUARDIAN: Ecuador has moved to the left under socialist president Rafael Correa, worsening its relations with the United StatesBritain's diplomatic relations with Ecuador have historically been low-key but cordial. However, the 2007 election of a socialist president Rafael Correa, led to a sharp change of direction in the Latin American state's foreign policy, away from the US and its regional allies and towards a radical bloc led by Venezuela.
In 2009, Correa closed a US military base, renounced Ecuador's national debt and joined the Bolivarian Alternative for the Americas (Alba) created by the Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez as a counterweight to western influence in Latin America, alongside Cuba, Nicaragua and Bolivia. Relations with neighbouring Colombia nosedived in 2008 after a Colombian incursion into Ecuadorean territory, saying it had come under fire from left-wing Farc guerillas operating there.
Ecuador has also given diplomatic support to Iran in its standoff with the west over its nuclear programme. Correa visited Tehran in 2008 and announced the opening of embassies in each other's countries, while building up defence cooperation with Iran. Iran has also provided loans for the construction of hydroelectric power plants. In 2010, the US government declared Ecuador as being in violation of international regulations on money-laundering and financing terrorism, further worsening ties with Washington. » | Julian Borger, diplomatic editor | Tuesday, June 19, 2012
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