Ecuador orders removal of extra security at London embassy

QUITO, Ecuador – Ecuadorean President Lenin Moreno has ordered the immediate withdrawal of extra security assigned to the country’s embassy in London where WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange has resided since 2012.

A brief statement from Ecuador’s National Communications Secretariat said from now on the diplomatic mission would have “normal security similar to the rest of Ecuador’s embassies in the world.”

The statement did not say why the decision was made.

In March, Ecuador’s government cut off Assange’s internet connection following his activity on social media decrying the arrest of a Catalan separatist politician.

Ecuador granted Assange asylum in its London embassy in 2012 where he has remained cooped up ever since. Ecuador has tried to find a solution that would allow Assange to leave without the threat of arrest, but with no success.