QUITO, July 3 (Xinhua) -- Ecuadorian judicial authorities on Tuesday ordered the preventive arrest of ex-president Rafael Correa, who is charged with taking part in an attempted kidnapping of a political rival five years ago.
Correa, who was in office from 2007 to 2017, has moved to Belgium with his family. He denied the charge, claiming it was a political vendetta against him.
Ecuador's General Prosecutor's Office (FGE) announced via Twitter that Interpol will be contacted to carry out the warrant and extradite him.
Correa had previously been ordered to report every 15 days to the National Court of Justice. His failure to do so led to the arrest warrant, said the authorities.
Correa instead reported to Ecuador's consulate in Brussels, saying it was in line with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and Ecuador's constitution.
Authorities investigating the alleged attempted kidnapping of politician Fernando Balda in Bogota, Colombia in August 2012, say former officials have pointed the finger at Correa.
On Tuesday, the ex-president posted a November 2017 tweet from Balda that announced "several judicial procedures are coming that will lead to an Interpol arrest warrant against Rafael Correa. Save this tweet and mark the date."
Did Balda "guess correctly or is he part of a plot?" Correa asked.
The "Balda Case," as it's known in Ecuador, has a long and convoluted history, according to the daily El Universo.
A member of Correa's progressive PAIS Alliance, Balda had a falling-out in 2006 and join the opposition, becoming an ardent anti-Correa activist and collaborating with extreme right-wing groups in Colombia.
Following his failed kidnapping in Bogota, Balda was deported to Ecuador to serve a sentence for slander. Shortly afterwards, he denounced Correa for ordering his kidnapping.
Five others have been accused of helping to carry out the kidnapping, including three intelligence agents currently in preventive detention in prison, former national secretary of intelligence Pablo Romero and former head of police intelligence Fausto Tamayo.
