Daniel Noboa's government has managed to temporarily appease Ecuador over the last three days, at least in its most visible form. Although the morgues remain full of corpses shot in the head, dismembered and beheaded, the army has also managed to pacify Guayaquil, the city most affected by the violence. People have returned to the streets, cars are on the streets again. The shops have raised their blinds again, even though it's still until eleven in the evening, i.e. curfew. Authorities have regained control of the prisons without causing any bloodshed. However, the murder of one of the country's most important prosecutors in broad daylight, without an escort at his side, has stunned the government, which sees how fearlessly the gangs attack the main structures of the state. Noboa, who was in Miami for the birth of his third child, has not commented on the murder.
Organized crime murdered Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate known for investigating ties between gangs and politics, last August. No one would have thought that criminals would dare to go so far. Along the way, they ended the lives of mayors and city councilors. Now the mafia has doubled down by targeting César Suárez, a well-known anti-corruption prosecutor. His last assignment, a few days before the murder, was to question the 13 young people arrested live for an attack on TC Televisión, an action that triggered a wave of violence eight days ago. The mafia's message is clear: no one is untouchable.
Forensic officers work at the scene of the murder of Fernando Villavicencio in Quito in August 2023.KAREN TORO (Portal)
Not even the president. The building where he lives in Guayaquil – this one he owns and the one next door, his father is the richest man in the country – remains guarded by two dozen soldiers stationed in front of the promenade, where the sea breeze blows gently. Suárez wasn't that lucky. His latest investigation aimed to find out who was behind the kidnapping of the television station's journalists, attributed to the Los Tiguerones gang, one of the most relevant. But there are those who doubt that this is the case that cost him his life. With the Metastasis case, which deals with the judicial corruption that is very present in the daily lives of Ecuadorians, the prosecutor has sent important white-collar criminals to the wall. In return, he took action against corrupt businessmen who made money illegally selling materials to hospitals during the pandemic.
There are many suspects, but only one must have ordered the crime. Suárez was shot more than 20 times while driving a white car in northern Guayaquil. He had just left his office in some judicial offices and was on his way to a courthouse to hold a hearing. He was known for his tirelessness and incorruptibility. His murders are reminiscent of the murders of the Italian mafia in the 1990s or the current murders in Mexico, where the drug trade has been firmly established for several decades. The prosecutor's death reveals the power of the Ecuadorian gangs, which have penetrated deep into the system. They hit politics with the Villavicencio crime and now question justice with the death of an important prosecutor. It's not the first. At least two other prosecutors were assassinated in the same location, Guayaquil, last year.
César Byron Suárez Pilay, prosecutor of Guayas (Ecuador), assassinated on January 17.abcesarsuarezp
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The authorities were forceful in their condemnation. Finally, the country's Attorney General, Diana Salazar, said that instead of giving up, the judiciary would redouble its efforts in the fight against crime. She herself was the target of threats. Last year he received threatening calls from foreign numbers. Intimidation and a climate of terror also prevailed in the 2022 regional elections, to which candidates, mayors and city councilors fell victim.
Defense Minister Giancarlo Loffredo rejected “any form of violence” and said he reiterated the national government's commitment to “support the authorities of the administration of justice.” He linked the crime to the operations that the military and police are carrying out across the country after Noboa ordered internal unrest, believing that he will wage a war within his borders against organized crime, which already has judges, Prosecutors, police and generals controlled. In three years that the gangs have allied themselves with the Mexican drug cartels, the mafia has rained money by turning Ecuador into the world's largest cocaine exporter.
The Attorney General Diana Salazar in 2019. José Jácome (EFE)
The government has tried to convey the feeling that its offensive is a success. This Wednesday, like every day, the results of the operation were announced: 1,975 people arrested for “terrorism”, 55 operations against “terrorist groups” (as the gangs were called), 5 “terrorists” killed, 32 kidnapped people released. He also reported on the arrest of one Chelo, a gang leader, and one Leo, a hitman. This report was published in the morning, while Prosecutor Suárez was still among the living. His death, even if it is just one, negates the government's use of weapons.
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