AP EXCLUSIVE: USAID must leave Ecuador in September, programs cancelled

QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuador's government is asking USAID to leave the South American country by the end of September.

Ecuador's request is spelled out in a letter obtained by The Associated Press. The Nov. 26 missive is signed by Gabriela Rosero of Ecuador's international cooperation agency and says: "USAID must not execute any new activity," nor widen any existing projects.

It was sent to the U.S. Embassy in the Ecuadorean capital of Quito and addressed to USAID program officer Christopher M. Cushing.

Rosero told The AP in a subsequent interview that USAID must pull out by Sept. 30, and "the decision has been made."