 The alleged threats were made, according to the Times, because Ecuador was supporting a resolution before the World Health Organization which supported encouraging breast feeding.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services on July 8, 2018, and the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs on July 10, 2018, refuted the allegations, rejecting the assertion that Ambassador Chapman or anyone affiliated with U.S. Embassy Quito threatened Ecuador with trade sanctions or the withdrawal of security assistance related to a resolution at the World Health Assembly.The Ecuadorian Government, in a July 9, 2018, joint statement from the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Human Mobility denied that any outside pressures influenced the Ecuadorian government’s position on the resolution.