The Ecuadorian President Blasted the Washington Post for Snowden Comments

Lost in all this Edward Snowden stuff is what Ecuador, the country that will presumably take him in, thinks about the media frenzy and the international hunt for him.

Apparently they're not too jazzed with what's being written: Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa blasted a Washington Post editorial published Monday that said Correa's behavior represents the height of "anti-American chutzpah."

"Taking in Mr. Snowden would allow Mr. Correa to advance his most cherished ambition: replacing the deceased Hugo Chavez as the hemisphere’s preeminent anti-US demagogue," the Washington Post editorial board wrote. "It would thwart the Justice Department’s attempt to prosecute the fugitive American. Yet, as we see it, that all might be worth it if the case were to focus public and congressional attention on Mr. Correa’s own repression of free speech — and his attempt to set himself up as a US foil even while profiting from US trade preferences."

The Post said Correa is known for destroying free speech in the country and that a new law in the country limits the "free circulation, especially by means of the communications media" of information. The law creates a situation where, if Snowden were Ecuadorian and had done the same leaks, he and the Glenn Greenwalds of the world would have been immediately arrested.

The Post has a point—the Committee to Protect Journalists has blasted the law, saying it's a move by Correa to assist him in "muzzling all critics," and critics have called it the "gag law."

But Correa doesn't see it that way. In a Twitter rant this morning, Correa slammed the Post's editorial:

"The Washington Post "accuses" Ecuador of a double standard. The nerve! Do you realize the power of the international press? They've managed to focus attention on Snowden and on the "evil" countries that "support" him, making us forget the terrible things it has done against the American people and the entire world. 'The world order isn't just unjust, it's immoral,'" Correa tweeted.

La caretucada del siglo: Washington Post "acusa" a Ecuador de doble estándar. ¡Vaya descaro! ¿Se dan cuenta del poder de la prensa…

— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) June 26, 2013

…internacional? Han logrado centrar la atención en Snowden y en los "malvados" países que lo "apoyan", haciéndonos olvidar las terribles..

— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) June 26, 2013

…cosas que denunció contra el pueblo norteamericano y el mundo entero. "El orden mundial no sólo es injusto, es inmoral".

— Rafael Correa (@MashiRafael) June 26, 2013

For its part, Ecuador seems more likely than ever to grant Snowden asylum—earlier today, Ecuador's foreign minister said it would consider hosting Snowden in one of its embassies, Julian Assange-style. Requests for comment by Motherboard to WikiLeaks and the Ecuadorian embassy in Moscow weren't immediately returned, but we'll update if we hear back.