EcuadorPresident Noboas motorcade attacked with rocks in alleged assassination attempt

The Cabinet of Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa on Wednesday denounced protesters who threw rocks at his motorcade, calling it an assassination attempt, as investigators remained silent about Tuesday’s attack.Late Wednesday, however, Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office announced that a judge had declared the arrest of five suspects illegal and ordered their release.The office said on the social platform X that the judge’s decision kept it from bringing charges against them.Noboa declared a state of emergency Sunday across 10 provinces after the removal of a fuel subsidy triggered two weeks of anti-government demonstrations organized by Ecuador’s largest Indigenous group.

Diesel prices have since risen from $1.80 to $2.80 per gallon.The past three administrations have only succeeded in a minimal fuel price hike after weeks of protests followed by negotiations with Indigenous groups.Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo told a local news program Wednesday: “The level of aggression with which they attacked the caravan shows that this was a clear assassination attempt and an act of terrorism against the (president).”The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador, the protests’ organizers, said that the presidential motorcade had entered a place where they knew there were protesters “to justify their war policy,” and that the administration is responding to legitimate demands with force.The group also called on international human rights organizations to remain vigilant.Defense attorney Yaku Pérez, who represented the five people arrested after the attack, told the AP that “there’s no way to tie” them to what happened.

“Their innocence has been confirmed.”Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday condemned the violence against Noboa’s motorcade, and expressed deep concern “about the situation amid ongoing protests,” while calling for an end to all violence and an inclusive dialogue to resolve di...