Why did Ecuador spend $5m in intelligence operation to protect Julian Assange as he hides out in its London embassy
By Tariq Tahir For Mailonline 23:25 BST 15 May 2018, updated 00:16 BST 16 May 2018
Ecuador has spent at least £3.7 million on an intelligence operation to protect Julian Assange after he fled to the country's London embassy to avoid sex crime charges in Sweden.
The Wikileaks founder has been living at the embassy since June 2012 to avoid extradition to Sweden to face questioning over the allegations, which he always denied.
Sweden dropped the case, but Assange remains subject to arrest in Britain for jumping bail.
It has now emerged that an operation initially called 'Operation Guest' and later 'Operation Hotel', along with other intelligence activity, ran up an average cost of at least $66,000 (£48,885) a month.
The operation had the approval of the then Ecuadorian president, Rafael Correa, and the then foreign minister, Ricardo Patino.
From June 2012 to the end of August 2013, Operation Hotel alone cost Ecuador $972,889 (£720,130), documents belonging to the country's intelligence agency, known as Senain, reveal, The Guardian reported.
Assange's daily activities and changing moods, his interactions with embassy staff, his legal team and other visitors were monitored by security personnel and recorded in minute detail.
Soon after Assange arrived at the embassy counter-espionage effort began when a team secretly installed CCTV cameras in the Ecuadorian embassy.
The cameras covered the entrance lobby, a meeting room and the mini-balcony from which Assange would periodically address supporters
Everyone who came in and out, was filmed and the cameras also kept watch on the street.
According to The Guardian, the security team oversaw Assange's contacts from a control room, consulting with him about anyone wanting to visit.
If he agreed, guests were allowed and they were met in the foyer, went through a security check, and handed over their passports and mobile phones.
Details such as passport numbers, nationalities and the purposes of the visits were recorded.
The Guardian also claimed these visitor logs could also provide clues about the source of leaked emails belonging to the Democratic National Committee published by Wikileaks.
An international security company was contracted to secretly film and monitor all activity in the embassy, whose bill was $55,000 (£40,000) a month, paid from a 'special expenses' government budget, the documents reveal.
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