Ecuador Attorney General: Prosecutor's Murder Won't Stop Gang Crackdown

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Facts

  • César Suárez, the public prosecutor in charge of the criminal investigation into the storming of an Ecuadorian television station by gang members last week, was killed Wednesday in an ambush as he was driving to court in the city of Guayaquil.1
  • At the time of his assassination, Suárez had detained at least 13 people in connection with the TV station attack. Suárez, the country's top anti-corruption prosecutor, was traveling without a security detail, and his death shows gangs are now targeting state institutions.2
  • Diana Salazar, Ecuador's attorney general, responded to the killing with a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, saying prosecutors 'will not stop' going after gangs and other crime groups.3
  • Previously, President Daniel Noboa last week responded to the increase in gang violence with a declaration saying Ecuador is in an 'internal armed conflict.' He proclaimed a state of emergency for 60 days, imposed overnight curfews, and declared 22 criminal gangs as terrorist organizations.4
  • Ecuadorian police are searching for those responsible for Suárez's murder, and a nationwide manhunt is ongoing. 5
  • Ecuador was once considered one of South America's most peaceful countries, but in recent years it has become a drug export route for Colombian and Peruvian cocaine, resulting in an explosion of organized crime, gangs, and violence, with close links to Mexican drug cartels.6

Sources: 1Guardian, 2EL PAÍS English, 3Associated Press, 4Independent, 5CBC and 6Daily Mail.

Narratives

  • Narrative A, as provided by EL PAÍS English. Just when it seemed Noboa had made Ecuador safer, the gangs have stepped up their efforts to dismantle the state by exacting violence on top officials. But the government can't give up. It's time to make sure every official has a security detail and that double the effort is made to combat these terrorists. The future of Ecuador is at stake, but it's salvageable.
  • Narrative B, as provided by Guardian. Corruption is deeply rooted in Ecuadorian society and the campaign against it has been lost. Numerous neighborhoods have been overtaken by violent gangs operating on behalf of foreign drug cartels, and the authorities are powerless to stop them. Suarez's murder seems to be the final nail in the coffin for a country that's now seeing citizens flee in droves to the United States.

Predictions