An assassination plot against President Daniel Noboa has caused Ecuador to declare “maximum alert.”
The Ministry of Government stated in a statement titled “The revenge of the bad losers” that “all security protocols have been activated” as a result of the threat coming from “criminal organizations, in collusion with political groups defeated at the polls.”
Noboa was elected again earlier this month and pledged to fight back against ferocious cartel violence in Ecuador. Luisa Gonzalez, his opponent, has vowed to win the election despite his repeated accusations.
A military intelligence report that claimed assassins from Mexico and other nations planned to carry out “terrorist attacks” against Noboa was leaked earlier this week.
In a bid to destabilize the government, the government claims that “bad losers” from the most recent April 13 election hired sicarios (hitmen) from Mexico and other nations.
“The state is on high alert,” he declared. The armed forces, the National Police, and intelligence agencies are all working together, according to the statement.
According to a source with information, it describes “the plotting of an assassination, terrorist attacks, and street riots through violent demonstrations.”
According to the plot, “the life of the President of the Republic, state authorities, and public officials” is at stake.
The statement appears to accuse the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC5), which is led by Gonzalez and has connections to former president Rafael Correa, of planning the attack, despite not giving names.
Additionally, reports in Ecuadorian media suggested that foreign leaders, including Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum, may have supported the initiative.
Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that noboa’s administration would not resume diplomatic relations with Ecuador as long as Noboa was in office despite a diplomatic resumption that began last year.
Gonzalez was backed by the Mexican leader in a public way.
The plot for the assassination comes in the wake of the 2023 assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, which has become a pattern in Ecuador.
The nation has also been plagued by rampant violence by criminal gangs operating in neighboring Peru and Colombia, two of the biggest cocaine producers in the world.
At least 12 people were killed on Friday in a shooting incident in the coastal province of Manabi when gunmen dressed as military officers opened fire on a cockfight.
In line with Noboa’s ongoing fight against organized crime, the country declared an “internal armed conflict” to combat drug gangs in January of last year.
Along with a promise to boost the nation’s sluggish economy, which was viewed as crucial in his re-election victory earlier this month.
Source: Aljazeera
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