Ecuadorian prosecutor investigating armed raid at TV station is shot in the head and killed after leaving court in assassination by ‘professional hitman’
- Cesar Suarez was shot as he drove through the port city of Guayaquil
- He had been assigned to investigate the terrifying live TV hijacking on January 9
A top Ecuadorian prosecutor investigating an armed attack on a TV station earlier this month has been shot dead.
Cesar Suarez was fatally shot this afternoon as he drove through the port city of Guayaquil.
He was shot in the head after leaving his office to attend a court hearing.
Suarez worked in a specialized investigative unit set up to combat transnational organized crime.
He had been involved in several high-profile criminal investigations and had recently been tasked with investigating the terrifying police for live TV hijackings that ended on January 9.
Cesar Suarez (pictured) was shot this afternoon in a professional hit as he drove through the port city of Guayaquil
He was shot in the head after leaving his office to attend a court hearing. The bullet holes can be seen here in the window of his car
Members of the National Police remain at the site where prosecutor Cesar Suarez was shot dead on January 17 in Guayaquil, Ecuador
Hooded gunmen burst into TC Television in Guayaquil and fired shots while employees were broadcasting.
Ecuadorian journalist Jose Luis Calderon, who was live on air as the drama unfolded, revealed after it was over that the invaders had filled his jacket with an improvised explosive device and threatened to kill him if police arrived.
The South American country’s attorney general’s office later confirmed that 13 people had been arrested after heavily armed police stormed the building and were facing charges of terror offences.
Suarez had told an Ecuadorian newspaper in an interview the day before his death that he had no police protection, despite interrogating the 13 suspects in an attempt to find out who ordered the attack.
The country’s attorney general, Diana Salazar, said after learning of the prosecutor’s murder: “I will be emphatic.
“The organized crime groups, the criminals, the terrorists, will not stop our compromise with Ecuadorian society.”
The attack on TC Television was one of the first major criminal acts to hit Ecuador following the prison escape of gang boss Adolfo Macias, alias Fito, and President Daniel Noboa’s subsequent decision to declare a state of emergency on January 7 .
Relatives of prosecutor Cesar Suarez cry at the scene where Suarez was shot
Members of the National Police move the body of prosecutor Cesar Suarez to Guayaquil
Members of the National Police inspect the car in which prosecutor Cesar Suarez was sitting at the time he was shot dead
Men with covered faces entered the set of the TC Television network in the port city of Guayaquil on January 9, shouting that they had bombs
Gunmen broke into the set of a public television channel in Ecuador while it was broadcasting live and threatened people
Men were seen brandishing what appeared to be bombs and grenades (pictured)
The fugitive, leader of a gang called Los Choneros, remains at large.
The raid on the TV studio has been blamed on another gang called Los Tiguerones, which has been linked to the kidnapping of British millionaire businessman Colin Armstrong last month.
The 78-year-old former honorary consul for Guayaquil was released on December 20 after several days in custody and nine suspects were subsequently arrested.
Suarez was killed while driving along Avenida del Bomberos.
Photos published in local media showed the driver’s side window of his car riddled with bullets.
The dramatic increase in violence in Ecuador in recent years has been attributed to its increasing importance as an outlet for cocaine produced mainly in Peru and Colombia.
Domestic drug gangs in Ecuador have joined forces with bloodthirsty Mexican cartels.