US expels Ecuadorian ambassador

The United States on Thursday expelled the Ecuadorian ambassador in retaliation for the expulsion of the U.S. envoy to Ecuador, who was kicked out after her confidential allegations of official corruption were exposed by the website Wikileaks.

A U.S. official told The Associated Press that Ecuadorian ambassador Luis Gallegos was summoned to the State Department and informed of the decision. The official said Gallegos was declared "persona non grata" and ordered to leave the country as soon as possible. The official also said that high-level U.S.-Ecuador talks set for June had been suspended.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity ahead of a formal announcement of the unusually severe U.S. diplomatic action.

The move follows Ecuador's expulsion this week of Heather Hodges, the U.S. ambassador in Quito, over corruption allegations she made about senior Ecuadorian authorities in documents released by WikiLeaks.

The State Department has said Hodges' expulsion was unjustified and unwarranted.

The official said the Obama administration wants a positive relationship with Ecuador but that the decision to expel Hodges had damaged ties and would be taken into account going forward.

U.S. expulsion of foreign diplomats is a harsh step generally only taken in retaliation for action against U.S. diplomats, or when a foreign diplomat is accused of abusing his or her diplomatic status in the United States.