The Ecuadorian prosecutor who was investigating the assault by an armed group on a television station in Guayaquil was shot dead this Wednesday in the midst of the “internal armed conflict”, decreed by the Government of Ecuador to stop the spiral of violence unleashed last week by organized crime groups.
The Prosecutor’s Office confirmed the death of prosecutor César Suárez, who days ago had interrogated the thirteen detainees for the takeover of the TC Televisión channel, who on January 9 broke in with weapons and kept its workers kidnapped for several hours while the broadcast was still live. .
According to local media, Suárez was chased by unknown people when he left the Prosecutor’s Office this Wednesday, who shot him inside the car in which he was traveling through a sector in the north of the port city of Guayaquil.
Suárez was in charge of cases related to drug trafficking, terrorism and organized crime, and this Tuesday he had demanded police protection, in a statement to the newspaper El Universo, after having taken statements from the thirteen people involved in the takeover of the canal, including two minors.
The eleven adult men were sent to preventive detention, while the two minors were sent to a detention center. The armed group that attacked the canal allegedly belonged to the Los Tiguerones criminal gang, according to the Police.
The State Attorney General, Diana Salazar, deplored the crime of the Public Ministry agent and said that her agency will not stop its fight against organized crime groups.
“This atrocious event brings with it a message for the work we are carrying out through justice in Ecuador,” but “organized crime groups, criminals, terrorists will not stop our commitment to Ecuadorian society,” said the prosecutor.
He also called on the law enforcement forces to “guarantee the safety” of officials, as well as the Judicial Council to authorize the judicial hearings carried out by prosecutors from the units against organized crime “to be carried out electronically.” “.
Salazar said that the Prosecutor’s Office has undertaken the first investigations into Suárez’s murder and after expressing condolences to his family, he assured that his legacy will accompany the Public Ministry’s fights against crime.
During January 9, violent actions were committed in different parts of Ecuador, such as the kidnapping and murder of police officers, explosive devices, burning vehicles, riots in prisons with around 200 hostages, who have already been released, and the aforementioned takeover of a canal. television by an armed group.
The events occurred at a time when the president of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, was preparing to launch a “strong hand” plan to regain control of the prisons, many of them dominated by organized crime gangs where, Since 2020, more than 450 prisoners have been murdered in a series of prison massacres between rival groups.
This violence has also moved to the streets, where in recent years Ecuador has risen to be one of the most violent countries in the world, with around 45 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, the year in which the man was murdered. presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Last week, Noboa decreed in an unprecedented manner in Ecuador the existence of an “internal armed conflict” against the organized crime mafias, mainly dedicated to drug trafficking, and which he has classified as terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors to be neutralized by the forces. of the order.
Although the situation had calmed down and Ecuadorians were seeking to regain normality, yesterday Tuesday a prison officer was murdered in the Amazonian province of Sucumbíos and this Wednesday the crime of prosecutor César Suárez occurred.
