Noboa accuses Ecuadorian opposition of financing itself with drug trafficking money
President Daniel Noboa claimed without providing evidence that Correísmo finances itself with organised crime money. Luisa González, former presidential candidate, is in preventive detention in the Labyrinth case.
Noboa points to Correísmo for links with organised crime
Ecuador's president, Daniel Noboa, asserted on Monday that the opposition to his Government has financed itself with "drug trafficking and organised crime money", without presenting concrete evidence to support the claim, according to infobae.com.
In an interview on Radio Sucre, Noboa pointed directly at former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), whom he linked with criminal gangs such as Los Lobos and Los Choneros. "There is a direct nexus and there has been proven asset laundering in recent campaigns, not only in the 2023 one, in which drug trafficking and organised crime money is used to finance the opposition to this Government," the president stated.
The president also noted that his Government has identified links with drug trafficking in at least three different political parties, without specifying which ones. "It is not from one specific party," he clarified.
González in preventive detention over Labyrinth case
The previous Friday, former Correísta presidential candidate Luisa González entered preventive detention by judicial order, within the framework of the Labyrinth case, which is investigating alleged money laundering during the 2023 electoral campaign. González, who lost against Noboa in the runoff votes of 2023 and 2025, was detained in the early hours of Thursday and held in Riobamba prison.
Regarding her situation, Noboa indicated that the investigations suggest that "there are indications that yes" she was involved, although he clarified that "a judicial process still remains, a trial still remains, information still to come out".
Citizens' Revolution suspended ahead of local elections
The investigations originated in the so-called Petty Cash case, which led to the suspension of the Citizens' Revolution party (RC) at the request of the Public Prosecutor's Office. The party was barred from participating in local elections called for 29 November, in which it sought to maintain prefectures and mayoralties in cities such as Quito and Guayaquil.
The Public Prosecutor's Office has been investigating since the beginning of the year whether Correísmo financed its 2023 campaign with cash brought from Venezuela. Within the framework of the Labyrinth case, it is also being examined whether funds from a company belonging to Guayaquil's mayor, Aquiles Álvarez, were used, who was convicted in the first instance for alleged illicit fuel marketing at his family's petrol stations.
Noboa, for his part, rejected the notion that his administration is ideologically repressive. "We are not interested in ideology (…). This is not about left or right," the head of state said during the same interview.
Source: Google News EC — Crime