Chevron vs Ecuador

Some dust has settled from the expected Chevron hail-mary play a few weeks ago - releasing a "hidden" video made by an "ex"-employee and American "businessman," now receiving pay and protection from the company. Pay for their services and protection from anyone who wants to ask some very basic questions.

Chevron says their spies (with hidden cameras in watches and pens) "just wanted to expose corruption" in Ecuador. Nevermind that the 2 were actually manufacturing corruption, going around Ecuador trying to offer up bribes to anyone who'd listen. And the logical way to expose this corruption in Ecuador is by handing their tapes over to an American company that no longer even does business in the country. But they do happen to be in a very expensive ($27 Billion) lawsuit.

Are they serious? Apparently nervous about the whole thing, one of the men in hiding in the US has retained the same lawyer used by Barry Bonds.

The man who apparently represented the Ecuadorean Government in the secret tapes, Carlos Patricio Garcia, has come forward to state his case. He is a car salesman who says he performs petty jobs for the governing party - Alianza Pais - catering food and the like. He says the 2 US businessmen approached him at a political rally to try to do some business. His lawyer admits he was basically "carried away" by trying to get some bucks from this eager to pay gringo. Garcia makes clear however, that he was basically talking out his ass in terms of what he could deliver. He appears to be nothing but a wannabe, a nobody. Alianza Pais says they've never heard of him and have no records of party membership. And his supposed relationship with President Correa's wife, is actually just having met her once at another rally.

“Garcia is the kind of person who likes to talk so he can look good in front of people, and that’s what he was doing in that video,” Zambrano said in an interview in Quito. “He has no connections.”

I noted earlier that there is no evidence (on tape or elsewhere) that the actual Ecuadorean authorities (or presiding Judge Nunez) knew anything about this proposed bribe. Despite this, another Judge has removed the Nunez from the case, which is still moving forward. The Ecuadorean authorities are investigating and calling on the US to do the same. They are wondering why, if the only thing caught on tape is ATTEMPTED bribery, the US has not moved a finger to investigate the 2 US men under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, which outlaws bribery of foreign officials to obtain business.

But still the main questions remain. Why would these 2 men try to expose their own corrupt practices in Ecuador? Why would they hand over evidence to a US company - Chevron? Why are they being protected by Chevron?

The only logical explanation is that these men were working for Chevron, trying to help their $27 Billion court case. This is an extremely grave act, that ought to be investigated by the US immediately. Not let to sit out there and delay justice for the Amazon jungle and the people who live there.