Almagro praises Ecuador's government response to mass protests in the country

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(CNN Spanish) - During the inauguration of the VII Meeting of Ministers of Public Security of the Americas, which started this Wednesday in Quito with delegates from 14 countries, the OAS Secretary General, Luis Almagro, referred to the recent protests and events violent events in recent days in Ecuador and other countries in the region.

Almagro highlighted the leadership of the Ecuadorian government for maintaining democratic order for 11 days of demonstrations and stressed that looting and vandalism by violent groups are not accepted in the Americas.

“Definitely, the way he has done it, the way he has redirected the country's social and political situation, is worthy of the highest praise on our part. In democracy, the marches, protest demonstrations are a fundamental right (…) But the assault, the taking, the burning of public goods such as the Comptroller General of the Nation, looting, vandalism, obeying and responding to other geopolitical dynamics definitely they needed to be isolated, ”said the secretary.

READ: 11 data from the 11 days of crisis in Ecuador

On the other hand, the president of Ecuador, Lenín Moreno, spoke of the threat of transnational crime in the region, he said, to generate terror, chaos and destabilization. Moreno said without offering details that during the protests people led by former governors and illegal groups who act unscrupulously and who are interested in their judicial processes do not progress have infiltrated.

“That is why we must always be attentive to actors antagonistic to democracy. That under the mask of leaders and alleged spokespersons for social claims infiltrate, they camouflage themselves in the riots, causing the disorder but above all fear, terror, because that is the idea they want to create. That there is chaos, that there are no solutions, they instill terror, ”said Moreno. He added: "These characters act unscrupulously, without rationality, with the aim of injuring the legitimately constituted governments."

The Ecuadorian president insisted that all governments are exposed to these "criminal actions" and that it is necessary to act in a coordinated manner to combat them.

Lenín MorenoLuis AlmagroManifestationsOEAProtests