According to the Attorney General's Office, the amount of the diversion amounts to $367 million, a flagrant abuse of public resources.
Nuevo
Agregar La Derecha Diario en
Compartir:
Walter Solís, former Minister of Transportation and Public Works during the Rafael Correa administration, was arrested by Interpol in Mexico, where he resided under refugee status.
Solis is facing legal proceedings in Ecuador, including accusations of embezzlement in the Manabí Reconstruction case. This case also involves former Vice President Jorge Glas, currently being held in La Roca prison in Guayaquil
.
The news of the arrest sparked reactions in the political sphere.
Rafael Correa, on his X account (formerly Twitter), described the judicial process as “ridiculousness”.
“The Reconstruction case is ridiculous and was reactivated by Diana Salazar, after 5 years, as revenge for her impeachment. ENOUGH!” , wrote Correa.
Walter Solís
has two firm convictions, each of eight years, for aggravated passive bribery
(Bribery case 2012-2016) and embezzlement (Senagua case). In the Reconstruction of Manabí case, he is accused of diverting funds earmarked for the emergency after the earthquake of April 2016, prioritizing
projects other than reconstruction.
According to the Attorney General's Office, the amount of the diversion amounts to $367 million, a flagrant abuse of resources intended to serve the most affected populations.
Walter Solis, the corrupt detainee
Attorney General Diana Salazar noted that Glas, Solís and other government officials used public funds raised under the Organic Law of Solidarity for projects that did not meet the needs of the emergency. This scheme not only evidenced corruption but also a disregard for the urgencies of Manabí and Esmeraldas
after the disaster.
Protection from Mexico?
Despite the extradition request issued by the president of the National Court of Justice (CNJ), José Suing, the refugee status granted to Solis by Mexico in 2021 could complicate his return to Ecuador. The defense of the former minister, led by Sonia Vera, assured that extraditing
him would be illegal.
“We are blocking [extradition]; he has refuge and is protected by the principle of non-refoulement,” Vera said.
However, this situation exposes political refuge as a tool to evade legal responsibility.
A Legacy of Impunity
The case of Walter Solís is a reminder of the serious irregularities that marked correismo. The unbridled corruption during that period not only plundered public coffers, but also left thousands of Ecuadorians unprotected
after a natural disaster.
Correism, far from assuming responsibility, attempts to delegitimize judicial actions, calling them political persecution. But the numbers speak: billions diverted and a devastating impact on the population that needed it most. The arrest of Solis and the ongoing processes are a step towards accountability.
