According to the attorney general’s office in Ecuador, a judge in the country has granted permission for an alleged gang leader to be included as a person of interest in the investigation into the violent takeover of a television station, which occurred last month.
The armed individuals took control of a studio at public broadcaster TC during a live broadcast in January, contributing to a surge in violent incidents that resulted in the President declaring 22 criminal groups as terrorists and military targets. The attorney general’s office stated that “A judge of the judicial unit for crimes related to corruption … issues a new preventive detention order against Willian Joffre A. B., this time for the crime of terrorism.”
It was noted by Ecuadorean authorities that surnames are not included when identifying suspects in ongoing criminal cases. The man is reportedly the leader of a criminal group, already being held on other charges.
He was identified as a person of interest in the TC case, in addition to 13 other individuals, including two minors, who were detained by the police upon reacquiring control of the TV station.
Various Ecuadorean media outlets have reported that the man is the leader of a gang known as Los Tiguerones, one of the 22 gangs designated as terrorists by Noboa. According to local media, this gang is involved in drug trafficking and extortion in the coastal provinces of Guayas and Esmeraldas.
(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by Oliver Griffin; Editing by Sandra Maler)
