During a protest, president Rafael Correa was hospitalised after being hit by tear gas, at least one person died and 250 were wounded.

Yesterday the special mission confirmed it was a “serious destabilisation of democracy”. Following the president’s request for further investigation in October last year, the UN is looking into the catalysts of the incident.

The special mission will look into versions from various political organisations, academia and “stakeholders in civil society”.

Members of the UN delegation will meet with Ecuadorian officials to evaluate whether there was an attempted coup, and send a report to the general secretary of the UN, Ban Ki-Moon.

The investigation will also cover previous complaints made by Ecuadorian media who claim there was an illegal concealment of information surrounding the event. Correa has criticised the media for worsening the situation at the time.(PÚLSAR)