Investigating mafias is expensive in Ecuador. This was already demonstrated by the murder of journalist Fernando Villavicencio, a victim of hitmen during his presidential campaign in 2023 and now by the assassination of prosecutor César Suárez. The official was responsible for investigating typical corruption cases. According to Ecuadorian police, in his first public appearance with details of the case, Suárez left the criminal investigation station in Guayaquil – the city most affected by the wave of violence – to go to his home. He entered there just a few minutes later, when it was about one o'clock in the afternoon.
Seven minutes later, His vehicle left the urbanization to be intercepted 20 minutes later on an avenue. Two vehicles, a truck and a limousine, blocked his path. It was there that the shooting took place that ended the life of the prosecutor, who had been assigned to the National Special Investigation Unit against Transnational Organized Crime since 2013.
Ecuadorian police arrested two people responsible for the incident and a third is being sought. Commander General César Zapata said a rifle, two pistols, chargers and two vehicles were confiscated from those arrested.
General Víctor Herrera, police commander of Zone 8, which includes Guayaquil, added this They would be two members of the band Los Chone Killer –which, before establishing itself as a separate organization, was the armed wing of Los Choneros; Both groups are now classified as terrorists by the government and are captured during raids on a motel and a house.
Without going into details, he added that one of those arrested was the one driving one of the cars and the other was firing a rifle from the back seat. There were two other people in the vehicle: the co-pilot also had a handgun in his hand. Herrera explained that 18 pieces of ballistic evidence were found at the site: twelve rifles and six pistols. Another vehicle was found burned in an area north of the city and is believed to be related to the incident.
The murder occurred when the prosecutor was unaccompanied, who usually accompanied him since his investigations involved cases of embezzlement in the police social security system, corruption in public hospitals, links to drug trafficking in the judiciary and, more recently, the attack by armed gangs on the TC Televisión channel. . The General Intelligence Directorate of the National Police was responsible for security. He himself told the newspaper “El Universo” in an interview on Tuesday that he was traveling without police protection.
As the Attorney General's Office later announced, the officer had announced on Wednesday that he would take part in a telematic hearing, “which is why he does not require the accompaniment of the bodyguard who is regularly responsible for his custody.” The company said in a statement that “Given the rumors that have been spread due to the terrible event, this clarification is necessary.”
The prosecutor's family circle criticized the lack of protection and revealed that Suárez was forced to leave the house by a seemingly unexpected phone call. It was not specified where he would go. Attorney General Diana Salazar asked the police “Ensure the safety of those of us in the performance of our duties.”and the Judicial Council to authorize organized crime court hearings to be “conducted electronically.”
With the death of Suárez Six prosecutors have been murdered in Ecuador since 2022, a period in which two judicial assistants also died. The public prosecutor's office has repeated several times that its officers are being threatened because of the investigations they are conducting.
In May 2022, prosecutor Luz Marina Delgado and her assistant died at the hands of contract killers. Just a few days earlier he had arrested the couple, alias Gerlad, “the Ecuadorian Pablo Escobar”. Three months later, Federico Estrella was shot down by a motorcycle as he drove his vehicle.
In September 2022, there was the assassination of prosecutor Edgar Escobar, who was investigating a prison massacre in November 2021 and who had worked on the corruption case in the National Police Social Security, which he shared with César Suárez. Later it was the turn of prosecutor Leonardo Palacios.