Former footballer "Diablito" Lara arrested in Quito on outstanding warrant
Ecuadorian former player Christian Lara was arrested on 1 September in the Atahualpa neighbourhood during Operation Pandora. An active warrant prompted his detention.
"Diablito" Lara arrested again in south Quito
Ecuadorian former footballer Christian "Diablito" Lara was arrested on Tuesday, 1 September 2026 in the Atahualpa neighbourhood, south of Quito, according to vistazo.com.
The arrest took place as part of Operation Pandora, a Security Force intervention led by Interior Minister John Reimberg, which covered different sectors of the Ecuadorian capital.
During the operation, agents entered a premises housing a liquor store and an underground bar. Upon verifying Lara's identity, they detected he had an active warrant for an alleged failure to appear before a court, which prompted his immediate detention.
Lara himself told Minister Reimberg that he had indeed complied with the court-ordered appearance and that the warrant was still appearing as active in the system due to an error.
Background: arrested in April for technology store robbery
This is not the former player's first detention in 2026. On 7 April he was arrested in the La Magdalena sector, also in south Quito, in the context of an investigation into the robbery of a technology products shop.
On that occasion, Lara was investigated as an alleged accomplice and driver of the group that reportedly entered the premises armed. During that procedure, authorities recovered mobile phones and laptops valued at approximately USD 9,000.
Following the flagrancy hearing, the courts imposed substitute precautionary measures to preventive detention, including the obligation to appear periodically before the authorities—the same condition that, according to the authorities, Lara allegedly failed to comply with.
Sporting career
Christian Lara was a prominent figure at El Nacional and also played for Ecuador's national team during his professional career.
Source: Google News EC — Crime