A court in Ecuador on Monday issued a warrant for the arrest of Colombian presidential candidate Juan Manuel Santos for his involvement in the cross-border military operation that killed FARC leader Raul Reyes in March 2008, according to El Espectador.
During the hearing in the city of Lago Agrio, capital of the Sucumbios region of Ecuador, the prosecutor announced that he would insist that the National Court of Justice (Ecuador’s highest court) processes Santos’ extradition.
The court in Sucumbios also ordered the arrest and investigation of the commander of the Colombian military, Freddy Padilla.
Last week, Ecuadorean President Raphael Correa warned Colombia against any repeat attack, saying that Ecuador’s military is “prepared” for such an operation.
Santos’ statement was also heavily criticized by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, who called the presidential hopeful a “threat” to the region.
The Ecuadorean judge in charge of the case ruled in February that there wasn’t enough evidence to pursue the case against Santos.
However, in early March Judge Francisco Revelo decided to re-file the charges against the former defense minister.
Ecuador’s Foreign Minister Ricardo Patiño said last week that his nation will not engage in any more dialogue to normalize relations with Colombia until after the latter’s upcoming May presidential elections.
