The former presidential candidate of Ecuador Luisa González was arrested this Thursday by the security forces of the Andean country. The news was initially spread by former president Rafael Correa and later confirmed by the leader herself, while the Prosecutor's Office reported several arrests within a case regarding political financing and electoral spending during the 2023 presidential campaign.
"They arrested Luisa González. Enough already! Ecuador will overcome," wrote Correa on social media, without providing additional details about the circumstances of the arrest or the whereabouts of the leader of Revolución Ciudadana.
Hours later, the opposition leader confirmed in an official statement that she was detained, framing the operation as what she describes as "political persecution" and emphasizing that at this moment she is the main affected by this campaign.
"We have reached an unsustainable situation. Noboa's dictatorship has not only led our beloved country to economic disaster, with total violence and corruption, but the attack on freedoms and political persecution are a permanent reality. The political prisoners of the dictatorship are being mistreated and tortured," she has assured.
González expressed her gratitude for the "infinite solidarity" she says she has received, called the accusations against her "absurd," and committed to facing the process "with the dignity of Ecuadorians who owe nothing and who are committed to achieving the freedom of Ecuador and a better future for the country."
The leader also appealed to the internal cohesion of her organization and the support of other leftist currents. She called for the unity of her movement and of "all progressive forces" in Ecuador to "achieve freedom and democracy." "Sooner or later, the silence will explode in every corner of the territory and we will achieve the longed-for democracy," she added.
Arrest warrants and the role of the Prosecutor's Office
The Attorney General's Office reported that police agents executed arrest warrants in the provinces of Pichincha and Manabí "against three people investigated for their alleged participation in the crime of money laundering," within a case in which a total of seven implicated individuals are already being investigated.
The Public Ministry communicated later that one of the accused, Wendy Onofre, secretary of the RETO Movement —a center-left formation identified as List 33— presented herself "voluntarily" before the authorities in the province of Guayas.
From the Government, the first vice president of the Assembly, Esteban Torres, denied that the Prosecutor's Office's actions against González are related to the electoral calendar. In his opinion, it cannot be automatically linked that any investigation is related to the political contest. "Here the concept has been misunderstood that whoever is in politics is sanctified. It cannot be said that any investigation carried out during an electoral period is necessarily related. We are cautious, it is a preliminary investigation and we will be attentive to the case," he said.
The so-called Labyrinth case
The process, known as the Labyrinth case, focuses on "alleged irregularities in political financing and electoral spending on advertising during the 2023 presidential campaign due to inconsistencies in the contributions and the lawful origin of the resources," according to the official version of the Prosecutor's Office.
According to information from the Ecuadorian newspaper 'Primicias', the case originated from a complaint filed by Diana Atamaint, former president of the National Electoral Council (CNE), for an alleged electoral infringement by González when he competed for the Presidency against Noboa. He was reproached for not having documented the origin of certain funds from the 2023 campaign; the economic sanctions were paid and the administrative file was subsequently archived.
Even so, the matter was referred to the Prosecutor's Office on June 23 for an alleged crime of money laundering, in which four other people linked to González's campaign team are listed as "suspects."
Complaint of arbitrary detention and request for precautionary measures
González's defense and his party, Ciudadana Revolution, issued an extensive statement in which they argue that it is an "arbitrary and unconstitutional detention" and "a serious violation of the basic guarantees of due process and his fundamental Human Rights," alleging that the authorities have not specified "the exact place where he is being held nor have they allowed access" to his lawyers.
"We hold the Government and the law enforcement institutions directly responsible for their physical and psychological integrity and their lives," they state in the note, in which they accuse the Executive of Daniel Noboa of an "aberrant instrumentalization" of the judicial system and, in particular, of the bodies intended to combat organized crime.
According to the version of the political movement, "a criminal case for alleged money laundering has been hastily mounted that seeks to disguise what in strict law constitutes a supposed administrative discrepancy in campaign accounts for a minimum amount of 6,100 dollars," denouncing "an explicit act of State persecution (Lawfare) aimed at proscribing the opposition."
In the face of what they describe as a "serious democratic outrage," they demand that the authorities inform "immediately" of González's whereabouts and authorize access for her legal team. They also announce that they will request "urgent precautionary measures" from the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (CIDH) to protect the integrity and rights of the opposition leader.