Ecuador judge orders pre-trial detention of leftist presidential candidate
A judge in Ecuador has ordered former left-wing presidential candidate Luisa Gonzalez to remain in pre-trial detention following her arrest for alleged money laundering.
The order came on Friday, one day after the 48-year-old Gonzalez was arrested in the rural town of Canuto. She challenged right-wing President Daniel Noboa in the 2023 election and lost to him in an April 2025 run-off, which she rejected as fraudulent.
Political Per Claim
Gonzalez, her party and her close ally, former President Rafael Correa, have called the arrest political persecution. Several other members of Gonzalez's Citizen Revolution party have recently faced charges, including Guayaquil Mayor Aquiles Alvarez, convicted of illegally selling subsidised fuel, and former Vice President Jorge Glas, serving a sentence for corruption.
confirms or makes visible what we have been saying lately: Ecuador is living under a dictatorship
Campaign Probe
Prosecutors have stated that Gonzalez is one of seven people under investigation for financing the 2023 presidential campaign. The probe specifically focuses on $500,000 poured into advertising during the race. Gonzalez has denied wrongdoing, dismissing the charges as "absurd".
Noboa, a close ally of US President Donald Trump, later accused Citizen Revolution of conspiring to attack him. Following these developments, the party has been banned from running in local elections scheduled for next month.
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