Calm was reported across Ecuador on Friday as South American leaders condemned the apparent coup against Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa the previous day, according to dpa. Correa, 47, made a triumphant return to the presidential palace after his release late Thursday after an armed effort to free him from a hospital, where he said he had been held against his will by mutinying police officers. In a televised statement, he announced a purge of the country's police forces. Reports said three people had died in the violence, which also left dozens injured. Troops were patrolling Ecuador's streets Friday. After an emergency meeting in Buenos Aires about the coup, South American leaders condemned Thursday's acts, welcomed the peaceful ending of the violence, and vowed to send foreign ministers to Quito to evaluate the situation. German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle also issued a statement Friday urging restraint on all sides. According to media reports, one policeman died during the action to free Correa. A further 44 policemen were injured in the firefight. Another policeman reportedly died after being shot by troops near a police barracks. Those deaths, on top of another death reported by Security Minister Miguel Carvajal on Thursday brought the overall death toll to three. The mutinying police officers and army elements had been manipulated by conspirers trying to stage a coup, the president said. The insurgents, however, have denied such claims, saying they were only protesting a new law changing their employment benefits. The security forces were protesting a law passed Tuesday by the National Assembly, which, according to officers, eliminates special awards, bonuses and other benefits. The government insists that these benefits were not being scrapped but allocated as salary. Military forces loyal to Correa took him from a military clinic, where he had spent more than nine hours, amid crossfire and tear gas. Rebels had allegedly blocked Correa from leaving the medical facility, where he had sought treatment for a possible leg injury and tear gas exposure after a scuffle with police, whom he had confronted earlier Thursday. The rebels denied Correa's claims that he had been held at the hospital by force. A state of emergency was declared after tens of thousands of police and some rank-and-file troops refused to obey orders in a large part of Ecuador and took control of the largest police barracks in the capital and the airport, among other key facilities. The mutiny spread quickly to the rest of Ecuador. Correa and Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino said the government would not give in to the mutineers' demands. After being released, Correa appeared at the presidential palace in the capital Quito and addressed celebrating supporters, saying the insurgents had been "manipulated by parties which want to conspire." Correa also addressed the nation on television, vowing that Ecuador would not experience a situation similar to Honduras, where a coup toppled president Manuel Zelaya in June 2009. The mutinying police and soldiers had been manipulated in a "very well planned" conspiracy which had been underway for some time, the president said. While still at the hospital, Correa accused 2003-2005 president Lucio Gutierrez of being behind a coup attempt. Gutierrez denied the accusation. Calm began returning to Ecuador after Correa's announcement as international airports were reopened, though the state of emergency remained in force. Soldiers were patrolling cities to maintain order, and school classes were suspended until Monday. Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner welcomed Correa's release as the Union of South American Countries (Unasur) began meeting in Buenos Aires to discuss the situation in Ecuador. The meeting was attended by the presidents of Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Bolivia and Peru. The presidents of Colombia and Venezuela were also expected. Several Latin American countries as well as the US and the United Nations have expressed their support for Correa. "The international community needs to respond with force so that democracy is respected in Latin America," Spanish Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero said on Friday.
