QUITO (Reuters) – Ecuador’s Labor Ministry has temporarily suspended Vice President Veronica Abad from office just three months before next year’s elections in which President Daniel Noboa will seek another term.
Abad, who is also the South American country’s ambassador to Israel, is accused of committing a “serious” disciplinary offense by failing to comply with an order from the foreign ministry to leave Israel and travel to Turkey before Sept. 1 due to security concerns during the conflict in Gaza, according to the resolution dated Friday but made public on Saturday.
Abad could not immediately be reached for comment. Her legal representative, Damian Armijos, said the decision had been appealed by the defense without a favorable result.
“This behavior will go down in history as an abuse of power above the Constitution, the law and rights,” he said on social media platform X.
The Labor Ministry said Abad, who has a tense relationship with Noboa, would be removed from office until April without pay.
Electoral campaigns in Ecuador are scheduled to begin in January and, according to local laws, Noboa would have to leave the vice president in her post in order to participate.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencial; Writing by Cassandra Garrison; Editing by Mark Porter)
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