QUITO, September 30.—With a "hasta la victoria
siempre", Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa
culminated his impassioned speech at the Carondelet
Palace (government headquarters) where he was
received in the midst of cheers and applause from a
sea of people, following an Army operation to rescue
him from a kidnapping of more than 12 hours’
duration at the Metropolitano Hospital, as part of
an attempted coup d’état led by police officers in
revolt, according to a Telesur broadcast.
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The head of
state was attacked with
tear gas canisters by elements within
the 1st Police Regiment in Quito.
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The head of state described this Thursday as "a
day of profound sorrow", and admitted that he never
imagined that he would experience such a situation
after all the Citizens’ Revolution government had
done for the poorest sectors and for the police.
In an act of immense dignity, the president
called for a one-minute silence to be observed for
the victims of the mayhem unleashed by opposition
elements, and mentioned former President Lucio
Gutiérrez as being one of the ringleaders.
The impassioned crowd chanted "Lucio murderer",
in reference to the ex-president, currently leader
of the right-wing opposition party Partido Sociedad
Patriótica, who is considered to be the political
force behind the conspiracy and the attempted coup
d’état.
From his platform on a balcony at the government
Carondelet Palace, the president thanked the
Ecuadorian sectors of state who supported him, the
international community – particularly the
presidents of UNASUR meeting in Buenos Aires in
order to support his government – and the people who
valiantly went out onto the streets to demand his
liberation, thanks to which the attempted coup
failed.
"No one and nothing can stop the Citizens’
Revolution," Correa affirmed in the midst of an
ambience of popular rejoicing, where the notes of
the national anthem were later heard.
Ecuadorian military units launched an armed
operation to rescue President Rafael Correa from
where he was being held kidnapped, surrounded by
police officers in revolt.
According to the Red Cross, two people died and
37 were injured in the incidents.
