OAN’s Abril Elfi
6:16 PM – Wednesday, January 17, 2024
A prosecutor who had been probing a gang-related attack on a TV broadcasting studio in Ecuador has been fatally shot.
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An attorney general announced that César Suárez was shot dead in the port city of Guayaquil, Guayas province on Wednesday while driving near his office.
Footage shared on social media shows a vehicle with bullet holes on the window.
One day prior to his passing, Suárez stated in an interview with the El Universo newspaper that he had not received police protection even though he had questioned the 13 individuals detained after the attack on the broadcasting station.
Last week, masked men, suspected to be gang members, stormed onto the set of a public TV studio during a scheduled broadcast and were reportedly seen waving firearms and explosives, as well as “holding the employees in the studio hostage.”
According to Ecuadorian authorities, no one was killed during the attack and all 13 gunmen have now been arrested and charged with domestic terrorism. However, one cameraman’s leg was shot and another one’s arm was broken during the attack.
After the startling barge-in, Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa declared that the country had entered a 60-day state of emergency due to the “internal armed conflict.”
Noboa designated nearly two dozen gangs as terrorist organizations, including Los Choneros, on Tuesday in an extended decree.
According to government officials, Noboa’s proposal to construct a new, high-security prison for the leaders of these notable gangs is what has prompted the rise in violence.
Authorities further stated that it is not clear whether the prosecutor’s death is guaranteed to be linked to the TV studio attack.
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