WASHINGTON — The Biden administration once again appears to be running into trouble as it seeks a reliable partner in Latin America, where major issues, including immigration and Chinese influence, are looming just next door.
In the last year and a half, administration officials have eagerly reached out to the government of Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso, one of the last center-right rulers in South America, amid a tide of newly elected leftist leaders.
Yet even as U.S. officials sang his praises as a pro-free-market democrat, Lasso, a millionaire former banker, was battling allegations of corruption, money laundering in Florida and ties to a drug-trafficking network.
