Ecuador accuses ‘bad losers’ of assassination plot against President Noboa

Government says on ‘maximum alert’ due to bid by rivals to kill re-elected president.

Ecuador has declared a state of “maximum alert” over an assassination plot against President Daniel Noboa.

In a statement entitled “The revenge of the bad losers” issued early on Saturday, the Ministry of Government said “all security protocols have been activated” due to the threat emanating from “criminal organizations, in collusion with political groups defeated at the polls”.

Noboa was re-elected earlier this month, promising to continue a crackdown on rampant cartel violence that plagues Ecuador. His opponent, Luisa Gonzalez, has continued to insist that the vote was fraudulent.

The statement follows the leak earlier this week of a military intelligence report that said assassins entering Ecuador from Mexico and other countries planned to carry out “terrorist attacks” against Noboa.

The government statement alleges that “bad losers” from the recent April 13 election hired sicarios (hitmen) from Mexico and other countries in a bid to destabilise the government.

“The state is on high alert. All security protocols have been activated, and the Armed Forces, the National Police, and intelligence agencies are working together,” it reads.

Quoting intelligence sources, it reports “the plotting of an assassination, terrorist attacks, and street riots through violent demonstrations”.

The plot targets “the life of the President of the Republic, state authorities, and public officials”, it said.

Although not offering names, the statement appears to accuse the Citizen Revolution Movement (RC5) of which Gonzalez is leader and that is linked to former President Rafael Correa, of planning the attack.

Media reports in Ecuador also suggested that support may have been forthcoming from foreign leaders including President Claudia Sheinbaum of Mexico.

Amid a diplomatic fallout that launched last year, Sheinbaum announced on Wednesday that Mexico would not restore diplomatic relations with Ecuador as long as Noboa remains in office.

The Mexican leader had publicly supported Gonzalez in the election.

The reported assassination plot comes amid a pattern of escalating violence in Ecuador, including the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in 2023.

Rampant violence by criminal gangs involved in trafficking from the world’s biggest cocaine producers, neighbouring Peru and Colombia, has also blighted the country.

In the latest instance, at least 12 people were killed on Friday in an attack in the coastal province of Manabi as gunmen dressed in fake military uniforms opened fire on spectators at a cockfight.

Noboa declared an “internal armed conflict” to combat drug gangs in January last year, reflecting the country’s ongoing struggle with organised crime.

Alongside a promise to boost the country’s flagging economy, that was seen as key to helping him win re-election earlier this month.

However, Gonzalez, who had entered the run-off vote following a tight first round in February and claimed “grotesque” fraud, said late on Wednesday that she plans to contest the results with the elections authority.