Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso traveled to the United States on Tuesday to undergo medical examinations after he was diagnosed with melanoma, a type of skin cancer, on his right eyelid, which was operated on last July, the General Secretariat for Communications of the Presidency announced.
The agency said in a statement that the president left this afternoon for Houston in the United States, where he will stay this week and is scheduled to return to the country on Aug. 21.
“During this week, the president will remain in office from abroad,” it said.
Speaking to reporters at the Mariscal Sucre airport in Quito, Lasso said he will undergo further examinations after undergoing surgery July 29 to remove a carcinoma from his right eyelid.
“It’s not a matter of putting my health at risk; it’s a matter of following the doctors’ recommendations,” said the president, who celebrated his first year in office in May.