On Thursday, the Ecuadorian National Assembly declared former President Guillermo Lasso responsible for the crime of embezzlement in the final vote of a political trial that he interrupted six months ago by forcing the calling of early general elections.
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Ecuador: Congress Resumes Trial Against Former President Lasso
After reconvening following the elections, the Assembly proceeded with the political trial even though there was no longer an option to remove Lasso from office.
He handed over the presidency a week ago to Daniel Noboa, a 35-year-old entrepreneur who won the elections resulting from the "cross-death" maneuver that Lasso used to avoid possible impeachment.
The Ecuadorian Legislature found the accusation of embezzlement against Lasso justified with 116 votes in favor, one against, and seven abstentions. This decision was reaffirmed in a second reconsideration vote.
With this vote, a lengthy political trial concludes. This process was initiated by the opposition, led by the progressive Citizen Revolution and the conservative Social Christian Party (PSC).
These parties drove the political trial against Lasso after a corruption scheme in public companies came to light, apparently led by his brother-in-law, businessman Danilo Carrera, who was purportedly linked to the Albanese mafia.
However, the Constitutional Court removed the accusation involving a presumed crime of concussión, leaving only the embezzlement charge related to contracts signed by the state oil fleet that allegedly caused "harm to the State in favor of third parties."
The resolution approved by the Ecuadorian Assembly was taken after 67 legislators intervened, with 39 speaking on May 16 before the application of the 'cross-death,' and 27 lawmakers between Wednesday and Thursday after the resumption of the session.
The document brought to a vote by the Citizen Revolution legislator Viviana Veloz rejected "the actions of former President Lasso in using the 'cross-death' during the political trial process to evade his political responsibility and possible censure and removal. This constitutes a harmful precedent against democracy."
The resolution also ordered the immediate notification of the decision to the Prosecutor's Office and the Comptroller so that they "initiate the respective processes of investigation and control, considering that the facts of this political accusation suggest the commission of a criminal offense."