As Ecuador’s President Daniel Noboa claims victory in a contested election, Noboa’s leftist rival Luisa González is difficult the outcomes, calling Noboa a “dictator” who dedicated election fraud to be reelected. The widow of former candidate Fernando Villavicencio additionally launched a brand new video seemingly confirming allegations that Noboa had been concerned in an try to border a 3rd candidate for Villavicencio’s assassination in the course of the 2023 presidential election. Journalist José Olivares, who reported on the allegations for Drop Website, responds to the brand new video and the Noboa administration’s “cozying up” to Donald Trump and his allies, together with the infamous non-public navy contractor Erik Prince.
TRANSCRIPT
It is a rush transcript. Copy might not be in its closing type.
AMY GOODMAN: That is Democracy Now! I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González, as we flip to Ecuador, the place President Daniel Noboa received reelection in a runoff vote Sunday, in keeping with preliminary outcomes.
PRESIDENT DANIEL NOBOA: [translated] This occasion has been historic. The victory has additionally been historic, a victory of greater than 10 factors, a victory of greater than 1 million votes, the place there’s little doubt who the winner is. And it’s primarily based on perseverance, wrestle, work of every of the members of this group, of this group that seeks this new Ecuador.
AMY GOODMAN: However Noboa’s leftist rival, Luisa González, the successor of former President Rafael Correa, is difficult the official outcomes.
LUISA GONZÁLEZ: [translated] One of many exit polls gave us victory. None confirmed a distinction just like the one we’re seeing on the Electoral Council. None. Due to this fact, I report, earlier than my individuals, earlier than the media, earlier than the world, that Ecuador is experiencing a dictatorship. We face the worst and most grotesque electoral fraud within the historical past of the Republic of Ecuador.
AMY GOODMAN: Daniel Noboa is a enterprise magnate, inheritor to a banana business fortune, who’s made cracking down on crime his foremost precedence. He’s been condemned for skirting authorized norms within the course of, together with declaring a state of inner armed battle to extra simply deploy the navy. On the eve of the election, he declared one other state of emergency, barring protests and authorizing warrantless searches.
For extra, we’re nonetheless joined by José Olivares, investigative journalist and Drop Website Information contributor, the place he had a latest piece headlined “Dramatic Video from Widow of Slain Candidate Rocks Presidential Race in Ecuador, Confirms Drop Website Investigation,” during which he shared this video posted on X by Verónica Sarauz, the widow of Fernando Villavicencio. She talks about her husband’s assassination and the following try to border the political get together of the previous President Rafael Correa for the homicide.
VERÓNICA SARAUZ: [translated] I’m Verónica Sarauz. I need to denounce to the nation and the worldwide neighborhood an act of cover-up between the legal professional normal, Diana Salazar, and the president, Daniel Noboa, who’re permitting full impunity for the assassination and magnicide of my husband, Fernando Villavicencio, in August 2023, simply days earlier than the primary spherical of elections within the final elections. I can’t and should not stay silent.
AMY GOODMAN: For extra, we’re going to José Olivares, who’s becoming a member of us from Mexico Metropolis, to debate this dramatic video and the presidential race in Ecuador. José, should you can reply?
JOSÉ OLIVARES: Sure, simply very briefly. So, in 2023, Fernando Villavicencio, this anti-corruption candidate who vowed to tackle the drug and felony organizations in Ecuador, was assassinated within the lead-up to the elections. And following after that, we noticed individuals, supporters of Villavicencio, come out and blame and primarily say that Rafael Correa and his political get together had been liable for the assassination.
Final yr, Ryan Grim and I at Drop Website Information, we acquired over 1,500 leaked chats exhibiting — from inside the legal professional normal’s workplace, exhibiting that, primarily, the legal professional normal knew precisely most likely who was liable for the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio; nonetheless, she let this lie, this rumor, run that Correa was liable for the assassination. And it was completed with political motives, proper?
And so, now we’re seeing the widow of Fernando Villavicencio come out publicly, days earlier than this election, saying, “Pay attention, the legal professional normal, Diana Salazar, and Daniel Noboa are conspiring. They’re politicizing my husband’s demise and primarily blaming Correa and delaying the investigation in order that Daniel Noboa might have some type of profit within the lead-up to his election, which he received on Sunday.
JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, José, we solely have a couple of minute left, however might you discuss in regards to the go to lately of Erik Prince, a Trump ally, who based the mercenary firm Blackwater, to Ecuador, the place supposedly he was offering regulation enforcement and the navy the instruments and techniques to fight narco gangs?
JOSÉ OLIVARES: That’s proper. I imply, Erik Prince’s go to to Ecuador was not simply to type of present some type of safety construction or infrastructure or coaching to Daniel Noboa’s armed forces, however he was additionally there actively campaigning in favor of Daniel Noboa.
Now, what’s fascinating is that we’re seeing how Daniel Noboa is cozying as much as the Trump administration. He was there, entrance and heart, when Trump took energy throughout his inauguration. And we’re additionally seeing how Daniel Noboa is requesting that the U.S. authorities ship particular forces, ship the U.S. navy into Ecuador to additionally assist struggle on this drug conflict that Daniel Noboa launched final yr.
And we’re seeing additionally how Erik Prince may be very joyful to make a cope with Daniel Noboa to supply coaching, to supply providers to the armed forces as they have interaction on this, you recognize, drug conflict that has been plagued with allegations of human rights abuses by the armed forces.
AMY GOODMAN: José Olivares, we need to thanks for being with us, journalist with Drop Website Information.
JOSÉ OLIVARES: Thanks.
AMY GOODMAN: We’ll hyperlink to your pieces at democracynow.org. After we come again, The Darkish Cash Sport.
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