Ecuador’s President Rafael Correa expressing his opinion of journalism. Ironically, Assange has sought asylum in a nation where the press is no longer free.

If you had any idea of taking a South American vacation in the next few years, you probably want to skip Ecuador.  Their President Rafael Correa has decided that the ludicrous rantings of a sexual predator are more important than justice for his victims.

Ecuador has granted “asylum” to Julian Assange on “humanitarian” grounds. The decision is based on President Correa’s hatred of America and not on any actions or statements from the Obama administration that would support Assange’s claim that the United States will extradite him from Sweden and either fly him directly to Guantanamo Bay or torture him before murdering him. Hell, we don’t even want to prosecute him. Unless evidence is found that WikiLeaks coerced, persuaded or tricked Bradley Manning into downloading and mailing the Pentagon and State Department documents that WikiLeaks published, or evidence that WikiLeaks hacked them directly, there are no grounds to prosecute anyone connected with WikiLeaks. Besides, we could have extradited him more easily from Great Britain than from Sweden.

Correa likes Assange and like the way Assange embarrassed the American government with the publications of our secret documents. Correa had a temper tantrum when one of those documents showed that our ambassadorial staff believed Correa was covering up and protecting corrupt police activities. So, to slap America in the face, Rafael Correa has just told the women of Ecuador and the world that in his country they have no recourse in the event of rape or sexual assault. Women are nothing more than blow-up rubber sex dolls in Ecuador. It is more important to provide “protection” for a man who preyed on his own employees, used his power and celebrity to abuse two young women, and then warped the situation of a criminal investigation in a highly civilized country into a means for him to leech off wealthy supporters for two years and bankrupt his own company for his “defense.”

Now comes the fun part. Ecuadorian Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino admits that without British co-operation, Ecuador can’t get Assange out of their embassy in London, where he dramatically sought “sanctuary” in June. Conceivably, if they could land a helicopter on the roof of the embassy, or hover over it and throw a rope ladder to Assange, they could get his skinny ass out of the embassy without touching English soil. But Patino knows even that won’t get Assange onto a plane to Quito. “Beyond the international treaties, the right to asylum, etc., and the autonomy or sovereignty the national government has to take a decision of this nature, we have to look at what will happen next. It’s not only about whether to grant asylum, because for Mr. Assange to leave England, he should have a safe pass from the British. Will that be possible? That’s an issue we have to take into account.” Speaking to the press in Ecuador, Patino repeated the allegation that Mr. Assange’s life is at risk from the United States and he is being politically persecuted. Assange and his supporters have gone so far as to accuse the two young women, who were volunteers at WikiLeaks, of being CIA plants who set him up. Patino said the Ecuadorian government is still “analyzing the weight, the veracity of that information.”

The people of Ecuador might want to consider something more than what Correa and Patino have laid out as national policy towards the victims of sexual assault. They might want to consider how their country has been trying to convince Western nations, the United States and members of the European Union, to invest in Ecuador’s economy. America is already so bored with Correa’s attitude that the Obama administration hasn’t bothered to press the Senate replace our ambassador, but Ecuador just gave the big middle finger to Great Britain and Sweden, and by extension to the whole European Union whose treaties and compact support the extradition system between members and the sovereign right of member nations to define internal crimes.

It is now up to Great Britain and Sweden to tell Ecuador that interference in their legal systems is unwelcome and no passage will be granted to Assange. He can rot for all eternity in the embassy or turn himself over to the British to face the music in Sweden. The simple bottom line on Assange and the sexual assault cases is this….no man puts this much effort, spends this much money, puts his company in the toilet and his friends in the dumpster if he is innocent.