Ecuador expels Venezuelan diplomat over 'offensive" comments

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October 18, 2018 6:21 PM

Ecuador expelled Venezuelas ambassador Carol Delgado on Thursday over "offensive" comments against President Lenin Moreno by a Venezuelan government minister, the foreign ministry said.

Communication and information minister Jorge Rodriguez had accused Moreno of lying about the number of Venezuelans that have arrived in Ecuador after fleeing the economic meltdown in their homeland.

"I listened stupefied to a president on this continent because I couldn't believe he could be such a liar," Rodriguez said on Wednesday, referring to the claim that "6,000 unwell Venezuelans a day are entering Ecuador."

Ecuador said it "will not tolerate any demonstration of disrespect towards our authorities," adding however that it would continue to offer help to Venezuelans entering the country.

South America has been grappling this year with a migration crisis sparked by a mass exodus of Venezuelans fleeing poverty, failing public services and shortages of basic necessities.

The United Nations says 2.3 million Venezuelans are living outside the country, with 1.6 million having fled since 2015. An estimated 90 percent have fled to other Latin American countries.

While Colombia has taken in more than a million Venezuelans, many of those have continued south to Ecuador, Peru and Chile, heaping pressure on those countries.

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