Citing reports from The Guardian and Focus Ecuador, The Verge reports that Ecuador’s intelligence program spent at least $5 million “on an elaborate security and surveillance network around WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange.” The intelligence program was known as “Operator Hotel,” which began as “Operation Guest” when Assange took refuge in Ecuador’s UK embassy in 2012. From the report: Operation Hotel has allegedly covered expenses like installing CCTV cameras and hiring a security team to “secretly film and monitor all activity in the embassy,” including Assange’s daily activities, moods, and interactions with staff and visitors. The Guardian estimates Ecuadorian intelligence agency Senain has spent at least $5 million on Assange-related operations, based on documents they reviewed. The report details attempts to improve Assange’s public image and potentially smuggle him out of the embassy if he was threatened. But it also writes that relations between Assange and Ecuador have badly deteriorated over the past several years. In 2014, Assange allegedly breached the embassy’s network security, reading confidential diplomatic material and setting up his own secret communications network.

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Source: Slashdot – Ecuador Spent Million Protecting and Spying On Julian Assange, Says Report