Exasperated Ecuador ends asylum for world's worst houseguest

Ecuador's President Lenin Moreno speaks during the inauguration of the "Agua Para Todos" or "Water for Everyone" government program, in Latacunga, Ecuador, Thursday, April 11, 2019. Moreno said in a video posted on Twitter Thursday that he revoked the political asylum for Wikileaks founder Julian Assange due to “repeated violations to international conventions and daily-life protocols.” (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

An external shot of the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, after WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange was arrested by officers from the Metropolitan Police and taken into custody Thursday April 11, 2019. Police in London say they've arrested WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange at the Ecuadorean embassy on a court warrant dating back to 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

QUITO, Ecuador – Did Western media and government hypocrisy bring about Julian Assange's arrest, or was it his bad manners?

The dramatic end to Julian Assange's asylum has sparked curiosity about his 7-year stay inside Ecuador's embassy in London that was marked by his late-night skateboarding, the physical harassment of his caretakers and even the smearing of his own fecal matter on the walls of the diplomatic mission.

It would've tested the patience of any host. But for tiny Ecuador, which spent almost $1 million a year protecting Assange, it was also seen as a national insult.

President Lenin Moreno called the WikiLeaks founder a "spoiled brat" in a fiery speech Thursday explaining his decision to withdraw protection of Assange and hand him over to British police.

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