An Ecuadorean judge Monday ordered the arrest of ex Colombian Defense Minister Juan
Manuel Santos for Colombia’s military incursion onto Ecuadorean soil, which resulted in the death of FARC commander ‘Raul Reyes’.
The arrest warrant was issued by Judge Daniel Mendez from the city of Sucumbios, Ecuador.
Mendez said that then-Defense Minister Santos was responsible for the operation in which 25, including ‘Raul Reyes’ and Ecuadorean citizen Franklin Aisalla died.
The Ecuadorean Prosecutor General said that Santos was responsible for these deaths and will be investigated for murder and for violating Ecuadorean sovereignty.
Colombia’s incursion onto Ecuadorean land led to the breakdown of diplomatic relations between the two countries.
Santos said in May that he hoped “wholeheartedly” to normalize relations with Ecuador.
The Organization of American States (OAS) had previously recognized the
Colombian incursion as an violation of Ecuadorean sovereignty.
This latest development comes two weeks after Ecuador brought a lawsuit against Colombia before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (the IACHR) for Aisalla’s death.
The Colombian government rejected Ecuador’s claims, stating that it has proof that Aisalla was an active member of the FARC.
