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Viewing cable 07QUITO885, CORREA DEFUSES DEADBEAT DAD STORY C-AL7-00365

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
07QUITO885 2007-04-18 19:20 2011-04-30 08:00 CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN Embassy Quito
Appears in these articles:
http://m.elcomercio.com/wikileaks/cable.php?c=a87ff67
http://m.elcomercio.com/wikileaks/cable.php?c=e4da3b7
http://m.elcomercio.com/wikileaks/cable.php?c=1679091
VZCZCXYZ0030
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHQT #0885 1081920
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 181920Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6801
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 6590
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 2502
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR 0545
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 1588
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 2201
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000885 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: TEN YEARS 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EC
SUBJECT: CORREA DEFUSES DEADBEAT DAD STORY C-AL7-00365 
 
 
Classified By: PolOff Erik Martini for reasons 1.4 (b&d). 
 
1.  (U) Summary: A recent attempt by Lucio Gutierrez to tar 
President Rafael Correa for his father's sins appears to have 
backfired.  The open secret of Correa's sordid family history 
became public on April 13, on the eve of the government's 
referendum, when PSP deputy Luis Almeida alleged during a 
television interview that Rafael Correa senior had been 
arrested and incarcerated for drug trafficking in the United 
States in the 1970s.  In his radio address of April 14, 
Correa confirmed the allegation, generating widespread 
sympathy with the story of how his family dealt with the 
difficult situation during his childhood.  Gutierrez' 
mudslinging began immediately after results for the 
referendum were in and has fed a backlash against him from 
the media.  End Summary. 
 
2.  (U) On April 13, to the evident horror of his television 
interviewer, maverick Patriotic Society (PSP) deputy Luis 
Almeida claimed President Rafael Correa's father, now 
deceased, was a convicted narco-trafficker.  On April 14 and 
15, PSP leader Lucio Gutierrez repeated the charges, calling 
for President Correa, the "son of a delinquent" to stop 
labeling him and others in the opposition with the term 
"mafia." 
 
3.  (U) Correa responded to the charge during his weekly 
radio address on April 14, saying "I have nothing to hide.  I 
had a very difficult childhood."  He explained that his 
father left his family when he was five years old, worked as 
a drug mule, and served three years in a U.S. prison.  When 
his father was gone, his mother maintained the family by 
cooking and sending Rafael to deliver food after school.  He 
said his father was a victim of the system, and implied that 
his father's act of desperation made him one of many who were 
excessively punished for a relatively minor drug infraction. 
To strong applause, he said "how can you blame me for what my 
father did 40 years ago?" He said he grew up thinking that 
his father was working in the U.S.; his mother did not tell 
him the truth of his father's situation until he was 18. 
Later, at a press conference after the voting on April 15, 
Correa refused further comment, responding to a questioner 
"I'm sorry, senorita, but I don't have time to deal with this 
garbage." 
 
4.  (U) The smear campaign, timed to influence popular 
referendum voting on April 15, immediately generated a media 
backlash against Gutierrez.  Major TV personality Rodolfo 
Baquerizo, who is generally sympathetic to Gutierrez, said "I 
don't think it's correct, ethical or decent" to drag family 
into politics.  One TV interviewer simply ignored Gutierrez's 
rant and another criticized him for making an irrelevant 
accusation that contributes nothing to national conciliation. 
 Luis Almeida's interviewer, Jorge Ortiz, responded 
dismissively "if it's true, it's his deceased father." 
 
5.  (C) Emboffs learned from PSC sources about Correa's 
father's history in October, 2006 and confirmed through 
LegAtt Santiago that he was arrested in New York City in 1968 
for smuggling cocaine into the U.S. and sentenced to five 
years in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta that same year. 
He was released on June 25, 1971.  Media sources also 
reportedly learned of the story, but it did not become public 
until Almeida made his declarations on April 13th. 
 
Comment 
 
6.  (C) Gutierrez' mudslinging has backfired, fueling 
sympathy for Correa.  After strong criticism from all 
quarters, the story had dropped completely from the headlines 
by April 17th and had no effect on the overwhelming 
referendum vote.  Indeed, Correa has turned the story to his 
advantage, admitting the allegations, presenting the public 
with a sympathetic picture of his character and upbringing, 
and leaving Gutierrez and company looking petty. 
 
7.  (C) Correa's childhood clearly influences his perceptions 
on the drug war: he has repeatedly said the prisons are too 
full of minor traffickers serving harsh sentences, and that 
more effort should be directed at the kingpins.  Correa's 
childhood also adds an emotional underpinning to his opinions 
on the factors that lead desperate Ecuadorians to migration, 
having experienced first hand the difficult results for 
families. 
JEWELL