Aug. 10, 2007 (LPAC)--The financial crisis of 1998-1999, which shut down Ecuador's banks, froze deposits and led to the imposition of the dollar as the national currency, was a "perverse plan" concocted by "the political power of the banks in connivance with the Central Bank," charged President Rafael Correa in statements made Aug. 8.

Correa was commenting on the commission's report which investigated the 1998-99 crisis. The commission found that there was "no constitutional or legal basis" for the actions taken by then-President Jamil Mahuad, which resulted in the loss of $8.08 million in savings and deposits in the banking system. It also found that the decrees issued by Mahuad, which declared a bank holiday and froze deposits, were an "authentically fraudulent maneuver, designed to favor specific institutions and/or individuals...typical of economic-financial crimes."

What happened in 1998-1999 was "planned systematically" to commit an unprecedented "heist"--an assault on the population whose repercussions are still being felt today, the Ecuadorian President said. Isn't it ironic, he added, that the very same interests that today charge that the government's policies will eliminate private property, "were the authors of the biggest confiscation [of funds] in history," which involved the theft of four-fifths of Ecuadorians' bank savings?

In late July, John Perkins, author of "Confessions of an Economic Hitman," had warned that he was "very afraid of what may happen to Rafael Correa .... I think his life is in danger.... President Correa can serve as a model. That's why I believe he is the most important target, and his life is in danger." Lyndon LaRouche drew attention to the fact that implicitly the threat to Correa comes from the circles of George Shultz.