1705649703 Hostage taking in front of a television in Ecuador Two suspects

Hostage-taking in front of a television in Ecuador: Two suspects arrested after murder of prosecutor

Ecuadorian police announced on Thursday the arrest of two men suspected of involvement in the murder of the prosecutor who was in charge of investigating the break-in by armed men live on the set of a public television channel on Wednesday.

• Also read: Hostage-taking in front of a television in Ecuador: prosecutor murdered

“We have arrested two suspects involved in the assassination of prosecutor César Suárez” in Guayaquil (southwest), “after an investigative process that allowed us to identify their alleged involvement in the crime,” said the head of the General Police, Cesar Zapata. on the social network

He added that the “evidence” police found against them included a rifle, two pistols, magazines and two vehicles.

Hostage-taking in front of a television in Ecuador: Two suspects arrested after murder of prosecutor

AFP

The spectacular live performance of heavily armed, hooded men tackling threatened journalists and employees of the TC channel shocked the country, which was facing a wave of violence unleashed by criminal gangs linked to the drug trade.

Thanks to the quick intervention of the police, the hostage-taking was ended without any casualties and thirteen attackers were arrested.

According to the public prosecutor's office, the murdered prosecutor was responsible for determining which gang had carried out this attack.

César Suarez was shot while driving his vehicle in a neighborhood of Guayaquil's port. In the photos obtained by AFP, we see several bullet holes that went through the driver's side window, although it appeared to be armored.

Prosecutors are threatened by about twenty criminal organizations operating in Ecuador, a once-violent haven that has become the main export country for cocaine manufactured in neighboring Peru and Colombia.

In June, prosecutor Leonardo Palacios was killed by gunmen in the town of Duran, near Guayaquil.