Two individuals have been apprehended in connection with the killing of the Ecuadorian prosecutor assigned to investigate the recent violent attack on a TV studio, broadcast live by gang members last week, authorities confirmed on Thursday.
The prosecutor, Cesar Suarez, was fatally shot in his car on the streets of Guayaquil, the focal point of a drug war between the government and powerful criminal factions. Suarez had been leading efforts to identify the gang responsible for the assault on the state-owned TC Television in Guayaquil, where masked assailants armed with guns and explosives had stormed the facility.
Police Commander General Cesar Zapata announced the arrests on social media, stating that the apprehension followed investigative steps that revealed the alleged involvement of the suspects in the crime. The evidence against them includes a rifle, two pistols, a firearm charger, and two vehicles.
In the aftermath of the attack on TC Television, drug cartels initiated a violent campaign of kidnappings and assaults in response to the government’s crackdown on organized crime. President Daniel Noboa declared a “state of war” in the country. Ecuador, once considered a haven of peace in Latin America, has been thrust into crisis due to the expansion of transnational cartels using its ports for drug shipments to the United States and Europe.
The recent surge in violence was triggered by the escape of one of the country’s powerful narco bosses, Jose Adolfo Macias, also known as “Fito.” In response, Noboa implemented a state of emergency and a nighttime curfew. However, the criminal groups retaliated by threatening civilians and security forces, taking dozens of police and prison officials hostage, who were later released.
On January 9, assailants stormed the TV station, creating chaos by firing gunshots and forcing staff to the ground. The police intervened after approximately 30 minutes, arresting 13 assailants, many of whom were teenagers. The live broadcast of the attack induced widespread panic across Ecuador, leading people to leave work early and seek shelter at home.
This incident is not the first time that gangs have targeted a prosecutor. In June of the previous year, Leonardo Palacios was fatally attacked in Duran, near Guayaquil. Additionally, in 2022, two prosecutors and a judge were shot dead in different parts of the country. The violence against law enforcement and officials includes the killing of anti-graft and anti-cartel presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who was shot dead in a barrage of submachine-gun fire after a campaign speech just weeks before the elections last year, which were ultimately won by Noboa.
