“We did notice that he was interfering in the elections and we do not allow that because we have principles, very clear values, as we would not like anyone to interfere in our elections,” he said. “We are not going to allow that to happen with a foreign country and friend like the US.”
Correa granted asylum in 2012 to Assange, who took refuge in the country’s London embassy to avoid extradition to Sweden on sexual assault allegations, which he denies. Correa fueled his rise to power on anti-US vitriol and aligned with Assange after WikiLeaks published highly classified Pentagon materials.
The report cited hundreds of surveillance documents detailing Assange’s time inside the embassy. The documents describe how Assange met with Russians and world-class hackers at critical moments and acquired powerful new computing and network hardware to facilitate data transfers just weeks before WikiLeaks received hacked materials from Russian operatives.
“WikiLeaks’ justification was that they were providing truthful information,” Correa told CNN. “Sure, but (it) was just about Hillary Clinton. Not about (Donald) Trump. So, they were not saying all the truth. And not saying all the truth is called manipulation. And we are not going to allow that.”
WikiLeaks did not respond to multiple requests for comment regarding the exclusive CNN reporting. Assange’s lawyers declined to comment.
In the interview on Tuesday morning, Correa distanced himself from Assange, even though he has steadfastly defended his decision to grant asylum to the WikiLeaks founder in 2012.
“You know how many times I’ve spoken with Assange? Never. I don’t know him,” Correa said. “Just one time he interviewed me when he worked for Russia Today, via Skype.”
Correa was president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017 and made a name for himself as a leading US antagonist in Latin America, in the mold of the late Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.
“I am way closer to Hillary Clinton than Trump,” Correa told CNN. “I know Hillary, I admire her. I was a student in the US, doing my doctorate when Bill Clinton was (president). Trump is an enemy of our migrants. Why the hell are we going to support him? None of this makes sense.”
But in the interview, Correa did not indicate that US outreach fueled that decision and he denied personally receiving a warning from US officials about Assange before the 2016 election.
The former Ecuadorian leader also said it was “nonsense” that Assange was “the head of the embassy,” downplaying Assange’s influence. The surveillance reports obtained by CNN described in extraordinary detail how Assange’s power rivaled that of the ambassador and said Assange used his connections to senior officials in Ecuador to threaten diplomats and guards at the London embassy.
CNN’s Patricia Ramos contributed to this story.
Source : Nbcnewyork