© EPA-EFE
Police in Ecuador have arrested two men suspected of involvement in the murder of a prosecutor on Wednesday. The police reported this on Thursday. The murdered prosecutor was involved in the investigation into the raid by armed men on a TV studio earlier this month.
During the arrest, the police found “evidence” against the duo, such as a rifle, two pistols, chargers and two vehicles, police chief César Zapata reports on X.
The raid by armed, masked men, who threatened and briefly held hostage journalists and employees of the TC channel in Guayaquil, shocked the country, which is facing a wave of violence caused by drug gangs. The images were broadcast live on television for several minutes. Thirteen attackers were eventually arrested.
Local media have distributed images of the car of the prosecutor, Cesar Suarez, with several bullet impacts near the driver’s window.
Issue
The attack on the television studio happened shortly after the prison escape of Adolfo Macias, alias ‘Fito’, the leader of the Choneros gang. This heralded the start of a new wave of violence in the country. After Fito’s escape, several uprisings and hostage takings also took place in prisons. At least nineteen people have been killed since the violence flared up.
President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency and sent more than 20,000 soldiers onto the streets to restore order.
Ecuador is the main export point for cocaine from neighboring countries Peru and Colombia, causing drug gangs to sow violence in the country. Between 2018 and 2023, the number of murders on the streets increased by 800 percent. Last year, 7,800 murders were counted and 220 tons of drugs were seized.