The plane of President Lenin Moreno of Ecuador was reportedly forced to make an emergency landing in Washington, D.C., after experiencing a problem.
Moreno has been in the capital as part of a visit where he met with members of President Biden’s administration. Shortly after his plane took off on Saturday, it had to return to the airport because of an unspecified issue, France 24 reported.
“The president’s plane suffered a mechanical failure a few minutes after takeoff from Washington DC and had to make an emergency landing,” the country’s communications ministry said. The statement added there are still plans to leave the United States on Saturday.
“Moreno and all occupants of the plane are fine and will return to Ecuador in the coming hours,” the ministry said.
Moreno was elected president in 2017 and is not running for reelection when the country votes later in 2021 to choose a new leader.
