Prosecutor probing TV studio attack in Ecuador is shot dead
QUITO, Ecuador — A prosecutor investigating a dramatic attack on the set of a public television channel last week was shot to death Wednesday in Guayaquil, the most dangerous city in Ecuador.
Prosecutor César Suárez, who had carried out other high-profile investigations, was shot while driving a vehicle, Atty. Gen. Diana Salazar said.
“Organized crime groups, criminals, terrorists will not stop our commitment to society,” she said in a video broadcast on X, formerly Twitter.
Thirteen alleged perpetrators have been arrested in the assault at TC Television, which was broadcast live and led President Daniel Noboa to declare that Ecuador is in an “internal armed conflict” amid a surge of killings and other crimes tied to drug trafficking.
The leader of one of Ecuador’s most dangerous gangs was discovered missing from the prison cell where he was serving a sentence for drug trafficking.
Suárez was also in charge of the Metastasis case involving an Ecuadorean drug lord who allegedly received favorable treatment from judges, prosecutors, police officers and other high officials.
Ecuadorean police said they were working to find those responsible for the killing of Suárez.
Ecuador has been rocked by a series of attacks, including the abductions of several police officers, in the wake of a notorious gang leader’s apparent weekend escape from prison.
José Adolfo Macías Villamar, leader of Los Choneros, one of the Ecuadorean gangs considered responsible for a surge in car bombings, kidnappings and slayings, was discovered missing from his prison cell where he was serving a sentence for drug trafficking.
His disappearance earlier this month led the government to declare a state of emergency that involved sending the military into prisons, which sparked a wave of at least 30 attacks around the South American country, including the assault at the television station in Guayaquil.
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