Olushola Omogbehin
The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa has escaped an assassination attempt on Tuesday after his motorcade was attacked at a public event in central Ecuador.
In a statement released to newsmen, the country’s Environment Minister, Ines Manzano, the president was inaugurating a water treatment plant when the convoy was targeted by a violent crowd.
“About 500 people showed up and were throwing stones at him, and there are obviously bullet marks on the president’s car as well.”
The government released footage which was said to have been taken from inside the convoy, showing protesters wrapped in flags scrambling to pick up rocks and bricks to hurl at the passing vehicles. “Cover your head! Cover your head!” a voice is heard yelling in the clip, as objects smashed into an SUV, shattering at least one window.
The protest and subsequent attack comes after many days of nationwide protests orchestrated by the government’s plan to raise diesel prices.
Officials allege that cartels battling for control of cocaine trafficking routes are exploiting the situation to destabilise the country.
The national Indigenous federation CONAIE said orchestrated violence had broken out against the people who mobilized for Noboa’s arrival, saying that elderly women were among those attacked in a “brutal police and military action.”
“At least five of us have been arbitrarily detained,” it said in a post on X, which included a video of a woman in traditional dress being marched off by four police officers in body armor, their faces covered by black bandanas.
CONAIE launched a strike action 16 days ago, organizing marches and blockading some roads, in a protest against the government ending diesel subsidies.
Critics say further dialogue is needed and that the measure will increase the cost of living particularly for small-scale farmers and Indigenous communities.
