Iran Press/ America: A top court in Ecuador on Tuesday convicted Rafael Correa on corruption charges and sentenced him to eight years in prison, a blow to a charismatic leader and his hopes to lead the nation again.
The decision comes as Ecuador faces its most pressing public health crisis in recent memory, one of the worst outbreaks of the new coronavirus in Latin America, according to The New York Times.
Correa was in office from 2007 to 2017 but then moved to Belgium after giving power to Lenin Moreno.
The decision could effectively end any aspirations by Correa to return to politics, as the sentence bars him from running for office for 25 years.
Correa had expressed interest in running for the presidential office in 2021.
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Ecuador judge orders arrest of ex-president Rafael Correa
