ECUADOR’S decision to grant asylum to Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks wanted in Sweden for questioning over claims of rape and sexual molestation, has put the country in a political standoff with Britain, where he is holed up in the Ecuadorean Embassy.

But the confusion in London has, in fact, little if anything to do with Ecuadorean-British relations and everything to do with regional and local politics in the Western Hemisphere. And it has little to do with protecting Mr. Assange’s right to a fair trial or freedom of the press — which Ecuador’s president, Rafael Correa, has trampled upon at home.

Instead, it is an attempt by Mr. Correa to settle old scores with the United States, display his political prowess in the run-up to Ecuadorean presidential elections next year and make a power play for a leadership role on the Latin American left.

Despite its avowed leftist leanings, the Ecuadorean government maintained relatively cordial relations with the United States during the early years of the Correa administration, which many attributed to Mr. Correa, who took office in early 2007, having obtained a doctorate in economics from the University of Illinois. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was warmly received while on an official visit in June 2010, during which Mr. Correa reportedly described his American experience as the “happiest four years of my life.”