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### Viewing cable 07QUITO885, CORREA DEFUSES DEADBEAT DAD STORY C-AL7-00365

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
07QUITO885 | 2007-04-18 19:20 | 2011-04-30 08:00 | CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN | Embassy Quito
Appears in these articles: http://m.elcomercio.com/wikileaks/cable.php?c=a87ff67 http://m.elcomercio.com/wikileaks/cable.php?c=e4da3b7 http://m.elcomercio.com/wikileaks/cable.php?c=1679091

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    VZCZCXYZ0030
    OO RUEHWEB

    DE RUEHQT #0885 1081920
    ZNY CCCCC ZZH
    O 181920Z APR 07
    FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6801
    INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 6590
    RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 2502
    RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ APR 0545
    RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 1588
    RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 2201
    RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
    RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

` `

    C O N F I D E N T I A L QUITO 000885

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE
    SIPDIS

    E.O. 12958: DECL: TEN YEARS
    TAGS: PGOV PREL EC
    SUBJECT: CORREA DEFUSES DEADBEAT DAD STORY C-AL7-00365

    Classified By: PolOff Erik Martini for reasons 1.4 (b&d).

    ¶1.  (U) Summary: A recent attempt by Lucio Gutierrez to tar
    President Rafael Correa for his father's sins appears to have
    backfired.  The open secret of Correa's sordid family history
    became public on April 13, on the eve of the government's
    referendum, when PSP deputy Luis Almeida alleged during a
    television interview that Rafael Correa senior had been
    arrested and incarcerated for drug trafficking in the United
    States in the 1970s.  In his radio address of April 14,
    Correa confirmed the allegation, generating widespread
    sympathy with the story of how his family dealt with the
    difficult situation during his childhood.  Gutierrez'
    mudslinging began immediately after results for the
    referendum were in and has fed a backlash against him from
    the media.  End Summary.

    ¶2.  (U) On April 13, to the evident horror of his television
    interviewer, maverick Patriotic Society (PSP) deputy Luis
    Almeida claimed President Rafael Correa's father, now
    deceased, was a convicted narco-trafficker.  On April 14 and
    15, PSP leader Lucio Gutierrez repeated the charges, calling
    for President Correa, the "son of a delinquent" to stop
    labeling him and others in the opposition with the term
    "mafia."

    ¶3.  (U) Correa responded to the charge during his weekly
    radio address on April 14, saying "I have nothing to hide.  I
    had a very difficult childhood."  He explained that his
    father left his family when he was five years old, worked as
    a drug mule, and served three years in a U.S. prison.  When
    his father was gone, his mother maintained the family by
    cooking and sending Rafael to deliver food after school.  He
    said his father was a victim of the system, and implied that
    his father's act of desperation made him one of many who were
    excessively punished for a relatively minor drug infraction.
    To strong applause, he said "how can you blame me for what my
    father did 40 years ago?" He said he grew up thinking that
    his father was working in the U.S.; his mother did not tell
    him the truth of his father's situation until he was 18.
    Later, at a press conference after the voting on April 15,
    Correa refused further comment, responding to a questioner
    "I'm sorry, senorita, but I don't have time to deal with this
    garbage."

    ¶4.  (U) The smear campaign, timed to influence popular
    referendum voting on April 15, immediately generated a media
    backlash against Gutierrez.  Major TV personality Rodolfo
    Baquerizo, who is generally sympathetic to Gutierrez, said "I
    don't think it's correct, ethical or decent" to drag family
    into politics.  One TV interviewer simply ignored Gutierrez's
    rant and another criticized him for making an irrelevant
    accusation that contributes nothing to national conciliation.
     Luis Almeida's interviewer, Jorge Ortiz, responded
    dismissively "if it's true, it's his deceased father."

    ¶5.  (C) Emboffs learned from PSC sources about Correa's
    father's history in October, 2006 and confirmed through
    LegAtt Santiago that he was arrested in New York City in 1968
    for smuggling cocaine into the U.S. and sentenced to five
    years in the federal penitentiary in Atlanta that same year.
    He was released on June 25, 1971.  Media sources also
    reportedly learned of the story, but it did not become public
    until Almeida made his declarations on April 13th.

    Comment

    ¶6.  (C) Gutierrez' mudslinging has backfired, fueling
    sympathy for Correa.  After strong criticism from all
    quarters, the story had dropped completely from the headlines
    by April 17th and had no effect on the overwhelming
    referendum vote.  Indeed, Correa has turned the story to his
    advantage, admitting the allegations, presenting the public
    with a sympathetic picture of his character and upbringing,
    and leaving Gutierrez and company looking petty.

    ¶7.  (C) Correa's childhood clearly influences his perceptions
    on the drug war: he has repeatedly said the prisons are too
    full of minor traffickers serving harsh sentences, and that
    more effort should be directed at the kingpins.  Correa's
    childhood also adds an emotional underpinning to his opinions
    on the factors that lead desperate Ecuadorians to migration,
    having experienced first hand the difficult results for
    families.
    JEWELL

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