Former Ecuadorean President Lucio Gutierrez, fired by Congress in April for abuse of power, is staying at a Peruvian beach resort near the border with Ecuador and plans to return to his country despite a warrant for his arrest, a former presidential aide said on Monday according to Reuters. Peruvian police said Gutierrez, who maintains he is Ecuador's legitimate president, was staying at the exclusive resort of Punta Sal, 60 miles (100 km) south of the Ecuadorean border. Fidel Araujo, a close friend of Gutierrez and his former press chief, told Reuters the ex-president would stay in Punta Sal until he was able to cross the border, but declined to say if he would try to do so legally or by other means. "I understand he will return to Ecuador despite (his arrest warrant), which is a dictatorial act of persecution by the current government," Araujo said from Quito. Colombia's Radio Caracol quoted Gutierrez on its Web site as saying he would return to Ecuador "come what may." Gutierrez was fired amid popular unrest in the oil-producing Andean nation after being accused of packing the Supreme court with allies. But Gutierrez, who was replaced by his vice president, Alfredo Palacio, says he was dismissed illegally and has vowed to clear his name.
