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Luisa Gonzalez Denounces Political Persecution After Detention in Ecuador
Former presidential candidate Luisa González denounced political persecution Thursday after security forces detained her in a predawn raid in Ecuador’s Manabí province, accusing the government of President Daniel Noboa of an authoritarian drift.
In her first written message since the arrest, Luisa González rejected the accusations against her and described the country’s institutional situation as “unsustainable.”
“Today it is my turn to be detained over an absurd accusation,” she wrote on X. “I will respond with the dignity of the Ecuadorian men and women who owe nothing and who are committed to achieving freedom for Ecuador and a better future for the country,” she added.
RELATED: Former Ecuadorian President Correa Denounces the Arrest of Luisa Gonzalez
The leading figure of the Citizen’s Revolution movement also warned of mistreatment and torture inflicted on political prisoners held by the current far-right government of Daniel Noboa.
Faced with what she called a repressive escalation and a socioeconomic decline marked by violence and state corruption, González issued a call for unity to social organizations and leftist movements. “To my partners of the Citizen’s Revolution and all progressive forces, I say: it is time for unity, unity and unity to achieve freedom and democracy in the country,” she said.
A mi patria querida 💛💙❤️ pic.twitter.com/fJrIXAvG0B
— Luisa González (@LuisaGonzalezEc) October 22, 2026
She thanked communities across the country for their support and insisted that the people remain determined to overcome government censorship. González closed her statement by asserting that popular silence would eventually break the authoritarian siege and restore sovereignty and full democracy to Ecuador.
A Judicial Crackdown
Luisa González was detained in the early hours of Thursday in the Canuto parish of Chone canton, Manabí province. National Police officers and state prosecutors carried out the operation under the name “Labyrinth case,” an inquiry authorities describe as targeting alleged electoral financing during the 2023 campaign.
The police deployment included simultaneous raids in Manabí and Pichincha provinces and ended with three people detained for the purpose of formal charges.
After the procedure, relatives and allies of González denounced uncertainty over her whereabouts. Officials have not clarified whether she remains in Manabí or is being transferred to Quito for a court hearing, a situation her supporters describe as a grave violation of due process guarantees.
The arrest is part of a broader judicial offensive against the Citizen’s Revolution movement, which is currently suspended for nine months following rulings by the Electoral Contentious Tribunal that critics say were designed to block its participation in sectional elections.
That institutional push previously prevented González from registering as a candidate for the Manabí prefecture. Quito mayor Pabel Muñoz, meanwhile, faced raids on his offices in the middle of his reelection campaign.
Ecuadorian Former President Rafael Correa denounced the detention of González in a separate statement, adding his voice to the growing criticism of the operation. The predawn arrest now places one of the government’s most prominent opponents at the center of a legal battle that her movement frames as political persecution rather than a legitimate investigation.
