Guayaquil Mayor, Detained Since March, to Undergo Surgery for Inflamed Gallbladder
Aquiles Alvarez, the detained mayor of Guayaquil, will undergo emergency surgery after an inflamed gallbladder was detected. His lawyer estimates 48 hours for recovery.
Opposition Mayor Operated on Urgently After Transfer from Maximum-Security Prison
Aquiles Alvarez, mayor of Guayaquil and one of the principal opponents of President Daniel Noboa, was transferred this Friday from El Encuentro Prison to a private medical centre in the south of the city, where examinations confirmed he has an inflamed gallbladder and requires immediate surgery, according to abc.com.py.
"The doctors have recommended that he be operated on and that this operation cannot wait until tomorrow, but must take place this evening," said his lawyer, Julio César Cueva, outside the hospital.
Cueva indicated that the doctors were conducting final tests on the mayor before subjecting him to laparoscopic surgery to remove his gallbladder. "Depending on the results, the average recovery time is 48 hours," added the defence counsel.
The transfer to hospital was ordered by personnel from the Ministry of Health working within El Encuentro Prison, after determining that Alvarez required specialist care. The defence would have preferred the procedure to be carried out at another medical centre, but given the mayor's health condition they chose not to delay the surgery. "Without any further delay or postponement," Cueva emphasised.
If no complications arise after 48 hours following the operation, Alvarez will be returned to prison. His lawyers are already working to guarantee him better nutrition inside the penal facility.
El Encuentro Prison was constructed by the Noboa administration following the El Salvadoran prison model and is designed to hold leaders of organised crime. Alvarez has been held there since March.
Against the mayor of Ecuador's most populous city lie two first-instance convictions: one of three years for failing to wear the electronic monitoring device on his ankle that had been ordered, and another of six years and nine months for illegal distribution and sale of hydrocarbons, a case linked to his family fuel station business. Additionally, he is under investigation for alleged money laundering in a second proceeding related to his fuel sales companies.
Source: Google News EC — Guayaquil