Versión Español
On Wednesday, March 15, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Communication explained why Lilian Tintori was denied entry to the Andean nation.
According to a press conference, Tintori, the wife of Venezuelan political prisoner Leopoldo López, did not have the necessary documentation to participate in political activities in Ecuador and for that reason was not allowed access to the country.
- Read More: Guillermo Lasso Denounces Lilian Tintori’s Expulsion from Ecuador
- Read More: Lilian Tintori: The Opposition Have Won Venezuela’s Election
“The activities of political proselytism are prohibited with a tourist visa,” said the vice minister of the Interior, Diego Fuentes.
“I saw her recent video, but unfortunately, her rationale for entering Ecuador does not correspond to her intentions, because her passport does not give her authorization to do activism or political proselytism,” said the governor of Ecuador’s Guayas province, Luis Monge.
Lilian Tintori, meanwhile, expressed her discomfort at the refusal of her entry to Ecuador, and urged Ecuadorians to end the “dictatorship” of current president Rafael Correa.
The Venezuelan activist called upon the Ecuadorian people to, “fight, raise your voice, as on April 2 you have the opportunity to decide your future, to end with this oppressive system.”
“I do not want Ecuador to become another Venezuela, I do not want Ecuador to endure what the Venezuelan people are living,” Tintori said.
“Rafael Correa acts and gives orders like the [Venezuelan president] Nicolás Maduro, he maintains the socialism of the 21st century, which for me is the dictatorship of the 21st century,” continued Tintori from Miami International Airport, where she was obligated to return after being denied entry at Guayaquil International Airport.
Opposition presidential candidate Guillermo Lasso released a video in which he expressed solidarity with Tintori, who has become one of the most visible critics of the Maduro regime.
Currently, Lasso is locked in an intense battle with former vice president Lenin Moreno, who he forced into a second round presidential election when neither candidate won a simple majority, nor 40% of the votes, with a 10% margin of victory.
Polls show a tight race: a recent Cedatos poll gives Lasso a 4 point advantage, while another poll by Diagnostico gives Moreno a 9 point lead.
Sources: La Republica, El Nacional, El Universal
