Noboa accuses Luisa González of links to organised crime and drug financing
Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa claimed that there are "indications" linking opposition leader Luisa González to criminal networks. González faces pre-trial detention on money laundering charges.
Noboa points to González and Correa over ties to criminal gangs
Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa stated in an interview with Radio Sucre that there are "indications" linking former presidential candidate Luisa González to organised crime, according to elnacional.com.py. At the same time, he accused the political opposition of financing their election campaigns with money from drug trafficking.
When directly asked about González's alleged involvement in illicit networks, Noboa responded that "based on what we have seen and the investigation that has been carried out," there are indications of such links. "There is still a judicial process pending, there is still a trial and all the information that is going to come out," the president clarified.
Accusations against correísmo and former president Correa
In the same interview, the head of state extended his criticism to former president Rafael Correa, whom he identified as maintaining direct ties with criminal gangs such as 'Los Lobos' and 'Los Choneros'. Noboa also denounced the existence of "proven money laundering" in recent election processes.
"Drug trafficking and organised crime money is being used to finance the opposition to this Government," the president asserted, warning furthermore that those networks would have managed to infiltrate both public administration and the judiciary.
Facing accusations of "political persecution" made by the Revolución Ciudadana movement, Noboa rejected the label and defended the ongoing judicial actions against correísmo figures. The president maintained that his Executive does not act as an "ideological oppressor," but rather seeks to eradicate the country's mafia structures "without fear."
Death threats and "direct confrontation" with correísmo
Noboa also denounced the continuous death threats and attacks which, he claimed, both his family and his cabinet members have suffered for not yielding to pressure from criminal organisations.
In an ironic tone, the president described his confrontation with correísmo as a matter of personal pride, claiming to have become "the worst nightmare" of former president Correa, who is currently in exile in Belgium.
Pre-trial detention against González for money laundering
Noboa's statements come just days after Ecuadorian courts ordered pre-trial detention against Luisa González for an alleged money laundering offence linked to the financing of her 2023 presidential campaign.
González, a leading figure in the Revolución Ciudadana movement and the candidate who contested the second round of voting against Noboa himself, thus becomes one of the highest-profile political figures to be placed under precautionary measures within the framework of investigations into electoral drug financing being carried out by the Ecuadorian judiciary.
Source: Europa Press, via elnacional.com.py.
Source: Google News EC — Crime