Former Ecuadorian leader lashes out at Moreno for allowing Assange's arrest

Former Ecuadorian leader Rafael Correa on Thursday slammed current president Lenin Moreno as a traitor, after a decision to allow the arrest of WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange. "The greatest traitor in Ecuadorian and Latin American history, Lenin Moreno, allowed British police to enter our embassy in London to arrest Assange," Correa wrote on twitter.

"Moreno is a corrupt man, but what he has done is a crime that humanity will never forget," added Correa, who granted Assange asylum when he was president in 2012. The former leader, who now lives in Belgium, underlined that Assange is "not only an asylum holder but also an Ecuadorian citizen." With the arrest, Moreno "has shown the world he is a miserable reprobate," the former leader said.

A left-wing former economist, Correa was president of his Andean nation between 2007 and 2017, during which Moreno served as his vice president. Correa has lived near Brussels with his family since 2017 and has requested asylum in Belgium.

He is wanted in his homeland on suspicion of kidnapping in charges that Correa has said are politically motivated.

(With inputs from agencies.)