Ecuador prez: US extremists plot to destabilize

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuadorean President Rafael Correa says right-wing extremists in the United States are conspiring against his government by attempting to destabilize the poor Andean nation.

The leftist president contends that U.S.-based groups — although not the U.S. government — are funneling aid to parts of Ecuador's indigenous movement.

He says plots to destabilize progressive governments no longer use direct confrontation.

Indian protests and roadblocks in recent months have forced Correa to reconsider proposals to allow mines on Indian lands without their consent and to put water under state control.

Ecuador's president gave no examples of the aid he denounced, however.

Correa spoke Saturday on his weekly radio program.