Cesar Suarez: an important prosecutor investigating organized crime and television channel takeovers was murdered in Ecuador

Organized crime in Ecuador is once again shaking the foundations of the state. Cesar Suarez, an important Ecuadorian prosecutor who was investigating criminal groups in addition to the takeover by a group of gang members of the public television channel TC TV, was shot this Wednesday inside his vehicle while driving north of Guayaquil. Was murdered. They shot him 20 times without anyone intervening, he had no escort. Suárez was handling some of the country’s most important corruption cases. A source who worked closely with the prosecutor admitted, “I don’t know how he survived so long.”

The response from his colleagues has been overwhelming. State Attorney General Diana Salazar has assured that Suarez’s death will not stop the progress of justice. “I want to say emphatically: organized crime groups, criminals, terrorists, will not stop our commitment to Ecuadorian society. We will continue to move forward with greater strength and commitment. We must be clear that this brutal incident brings with it a message for the work we are doing through justice in Ecuador,” Salazar said. Subsequently, he has asked the law enforcement forces to guarantee the safety of the officers and clarified that his unit is now investigating the murder so that he does not go unpunished.

Suarez had taken charge of the investigation into the live takeover of a channel by some youths armed with guns and dynamite eight days earlier. Authorities believe it was carried out by Los Tiguerones, a key gang behind most of the extortions taking place in Guayaquil, the country’s most populous city and where the violence that has engulfed Ecuador for three years is most felt. Has been done. The Tiguerones began as a group made up of former prison guards turned criminals, but they are currently made up of thousands of members. It is unknown what their motive was for attacking the channel, but it is certain that the incident sparked a wave of violence that led President Daniel Noboa to decree a state of emergency due to “internal commotion”, which It means that the government believes that it is fighting a war within itself.

The prosecutor became known to the public in 2020, when he took charge of the most significant corruption cases related to the procurement of hospital materials during the pandemic. The first to appear was the name of Daniel Salcedo, who was captured yesterday in Panama, where he was fleeing justice. Salcedo also appears to be involved in the famous Metastasis case, a mega-operation to root out corruption in the judicial system, which is no small thing. In addition, he investigated mismanagement at the former state oil company Petroecuador. The police colonel, Renato González, highlighted on social networks that Suárez was “one of the few prosecutors who bravely, and now I can even say heroically, proceeded with the investigation of the @Isspol case.” “Solidarity with the Ecuadorian Prosecutor’s Office and his family,” he concluded. His murder has caused an outcry. According to information from multiple sources, Suárez was known for being steadfast and indestructible. He was a great ally of investigative journalists, to whom he often provided leads that should be followed up. It was clear that their lives were in danger, especially over the past week, in which gangs have been carrying out attacks to force the President “to talk” without making it entirely clear what their demands are. For now, Noboa has deployed troops to the streets, imposed curfews and, at least momentarily, seized control of prisons, the gangs’ hubs. They have gained extraordinary power since the port of Guayaquil on the Pacific Ocean became the main route for cocaine smuggling around the world. The Choneros and Los Lobos, local gangs in alliance with the Mexican cartels of Sinaloa and Jalisco Nueva Generación, enforce their law.

The prosecutor left the police compound, where he had his office, and headed to the court for the hearing. According to a report he made less than 24 hours earlier in the Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo, he had no escort, although he interrogated 13 people detained for sabotaging a live television program. Which continued to air for just over half an hour. , This scene shocked the world, drawing attention to the disintegration present in the country. Organized crime has infiltrated the judiciary, police and army. It has a mayor and a governor on its payroll. The challenge for President Noboa, a young billionaire with little political experience, is to stop the advance of the Mafia, which threatens to take over all the state’s resources.

Ecuador was living through days of live-streamed violence and fury after the main ringleaders of Los Choneros and Los Lobos escaped from prison, a dangerous criminal known only as Fito and another named Fabricio Colón Pico. The whereabouts of both are unknown. There were attacks on hospitals and police stations, killings on the streets, and kidnappings and hostage-taking in prisons throughout the country. Businesses were closed and people confined themselves to their homes. The deployment of the military to the streets reduced violence and in recent days Guayaquil has returned to its normal routine. However, it was a mirage. The brutal murder of Prosecutor Suarez in broad daylight reminds us that the Mafia is not going to give up its efforts to impose terror.

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