Detention of Luisa González in Ecuador: images reveal her reaction at home
Former presidential candidate Luisa González was detained on Thursday at her residence in Ecuador on suspicion of money laundering linked to her 2023 campaign.
Ecuadorian police detain Luisa González at her home on money laundering charges
Ecuador's Police Force apprehended Luisa González on Thursday, former presidential candidate of the Citizen Revolution movement, according to a report by ntn24.com. Images of the moment of her detention, published by former president Rafael Correa on his social media accounts, show González inside her residence reacting with apparent disbelief.
The Public Prosecutor's Office indicated that on the same Thursday it would bring charges against three people "investigated for their alleged participation in the crime of money laundering". Among the initials of those detained published by the office on X is L.M.G.A., which matches González's names and surnames.
The institution is investigating "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". The authorities had initiated an investigation in January over alleged irregular financing from Venezuela towards González's campaign, the year in which Daniel Noboa was elected. At that time, González denied having received money from that country, and in January the authorities had already raided her residence.
The Public Prosecutor's Office did not specify whether this is the same investigation initiated in January or a new process.
Correa, former president of Ecuador between 2007 and 2017, a fugitive from Ecuadorian justice and convicted of corruption, who has resided in Belgium since leaving office, reacted with indignation on X: "They arrested Luisa González. Enough already!"
For her part, Gabriela Rivadeneira, president of Citizen Revolution, demanded the immediate release of González: "Luisa González has been detained by the government of Daniel Noboa Azín. We demand to know her whereabouts and her immediate freedom", she wrote on the same platform.
González, who in 2023 lost the second round of the presidential election with 48% of the vote against Noboa, attempted this year to register her candidacy for the prefectureship of Manabí, a historic stronghold of correísmo. However, the Electoral Contentious Court (TCE) denied her registration in September following an objection presented by the ruling party ADN and the right-wing party Creo.
The detention occurs in a context of growing political tension between Citizen Revolution and the Noboa government. The party was suspended for nine months in March following a fiscal investigation for alleged money laundering. In response to this sanction, the electoral authority moved up to November the local elections that were to be held next year, preventing the movement from registering its own candidates while the suspension remained in effect. Correísmo then opted to seek endorsement from other parties, although several candidacies—including González's—failed to be registered.
Source: Google News EC — Crime