2024-04-07 14:10:34
The former president and leader of the Citizen Revolution movement is a fugitive from Justice in Belgium, having been sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 for the crime of bribery. Although many of his political collaborators have been sentenced for various cases of corruption, Correa’s movement maintains significant political power and occupies the majority of seats in the National Assembly (Parliament).
The politician insists that he is the victim of a political persecution plot and has tried to discredit the work of the Prosecutor’s Office on several occasions.
Leandro Norero, who died during a prison shootout in 2022, was the founder of the Chone Killer criminal gang, considered a terrorist group by the Ecuadorian government. During his criminal career, ‘El Patrón’ maintained contact with criminal gangs such as los ‘Tiguerones’ y the Wolves’, two of the most dangerous in the country. After his death, the Prosecutor’s Office identified him as one of the main agents within an alleged conspiracy to control the judicial system through bribery.
Ecuador is going through a period of political upheaval. Last January, President Daniel Noboa took the army to the streets to combat drug trafficking groups, responsible for an unprecedented wave of violence in the country.
Within what the government designated as a state of “internal armed conflict”, The Armed Forces and the National Police have made more than ten thousand arrests in three months.
But even with the numerous military maneuvers, the violence continues. The most recent case is that of Brigitte García, the young mayor of the town of San Vicente, who was shot dead in front of one of her advisors on March 24. Just days later, a prison riot in Guayaquil resulted in the death of one person while four others were injured.