Their feud came to a head in a case related to unrest occurring in September 2010 in which Correa, now president, found himself trapped inside a hospital for several hours by police officers.
In an opinion article from 6 February 2011 which appeared in El Universo ("No to Lies"), Palacio alleged that the president had ordered soldiers to fire on the hospital, which was full of civilians.
[5] According to an editorial published by The Washington Post on 27 July 2011: Last week the president personally attended the trial while thuggish supporters threw eggs and bottles at the defendants outside the courthouse.
To no one’s surprise, the provisional judge hearing the case quickly ruled in the president’s favor, sentencing Mr. Palacio and the three El Universo directors to three years in prison and awarding $40 million in damages to Mr. Correa – an amount that exceeds the total value of the newspaper.
[7] On 24 August 2011, Palacio fled Ecuador to avoid incarceration and currently resides in the United States where in the following year he was granted political asylum.