Ecuador’s Interior Minister John Reimberg announced on Monday that the government is ending negotiations with Indigenous leaders from Imbabura, blaming them for breaching agreements amid ongoing protests.
“We fulfilled our part; they didn’t,” Reimberg said after meeting with OAS Secretary General Albert Ramdin. “From now on, anything that happens is their responsibility.”
The government said protest leaders failed to reopen roads as agreed, while the Indigenous movement accused the state of not demilitarizing territories or releasing detained protesters.
Reimberg ruled out talks with national Indigenous leaders, stating, “We sat at the table, reached agreements, and they were not respected.”