Violence in Ecuador: Attack on police headquarters leaves several wounded and detained, among them alleged members of Tren de Aragua
According to the National Police, approximately a thousand demonstrators gathered in the city center and advanced towards the facilities, setting fire to both private and official vehicles.
Anti-government march in support of the national strike.
A national strike in Ecuador on September 22 resulted in a high-impact episode of violence. A mob attacked the Otavalo Police Command, north of Quito, leaving two officers injured, dozens detained and heavy material damage to the police headquarters.
According to the National Police, approximately a thousand demonstrators gathered in the city center. They advanced against the facilities, setting fire to private and official vehicles, and endangering the uniformed officers inside. Videos disseminated on social media showed motorcycles and automobiles engulfed in flames, which forced the intervention of firefighters.
Link with Tren de Aragua
The Minister of the Interior, John Reimberg, reported that 20 people were arrested in Otavalo, among them two foreigners identified as William Andrés R. L. and Jonathan Bernin A. A. According to authorities, both are of Venezuelan nationality and "apparently from Tren de Aragua," a criminal organization of Venezuelan origin considered a terrorist in Ecuador and the United States. Reimberg warned that those who attack the state will face terrorism charges.
President Daniel Noboa also reacted to the events on the X, where he said: "They were in evidence: financed and surrounded by criminals of Tren de Aragua. It is not a struggle, it is not a protest... they are the same mafias as always, to whom we are uncomfortable".
Protests and official response
TheDaniel Noboa's government has maintained that the strike had a limited scope, but faces the challenge of containing social tension and preventing the protests from escalating into episodes of violence similar to those that occurred in 2019 and 2022.
LATEST
