Replace: Jackson Rodríguez’s wife and 5-year-old child have been rescued, police said.
Ecuadorian soccer participant Jackson Rodríguez’s spouse and 5-year-old baby have been kidnapped early Wednesday, police reported, when males broke into their residence seeking the Emelec defender, who instructed investigators he hid beneath a mattress.
The kidnappings passed off round 3 a.m. within the coastal metropolis of Guayaquil, police chief Édison Rodríguez mentioned.
In his testimony to police, the 26-year-old fullback mentioned he hid beneath a mattress when he heard the entrance door being damaged down, in keeping with the police chief. The perpetrators took Rodriguez’s spouse and baby after asking the girl if Rodríguez was on the residence.
Based on police, Rodríguez noticed at a window “that the people have been touring in a gray-colored double-cab pickup truck.”
Gustavo Garello/AP
The incident occurred amid a state of emergency declared 10 days in the past by the federal government in 9 areas of the nation, together with the province of Guayas, to which Guayaquil belongs. The measure permits the mobilization of safety forces in these territories to fight the operations of organized crime teams, which authorities blame for the wave of violence.
Ecuador is residence to round 20 legal gangs — with putting names like “Los Freddy Kruegers” and “The Peaky Blinders” — concerned in trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
Insecurity and crime have plagued Ecuador for 4 years, with a rise within the first few months of the yr, in keeping with the federal government. Between January and March, 2,345 violent deaths have been reported, 742 of which occurred in Guayaquil, positioned about 170 miles southwest of the capital Quito.
The port metropolis is taken into account one of the vital harmful areas within the nation. From these ports, unlawful drug shipments are despatched to Europe, Central America and the US, in keeping with authorities.
Different athletes have been focused prior to now. In December, soccer participant Pedro Perlaza, who performed for Liga de Quito, was kidnapped in Esmeraldas, a metropolis positioned about 115 miles northwest of Quito. He was rescued alive a couple of days later.
U.S. targets gangs in Ecuador
President Daniel Noboa, who was re-elected to a second time period in elections earlier this month, has advised U.S. particular forces must be deployed to Ecuador to deal with drug violence and floated authorized reforms to permit U.S. bases to function within the nation.
At the very least two high-profile Ecuadorian gang leaders focused by the U.S. have made headlines this yr. Earlier this month, the fugitive chief of “Los Cheronos” that relied on hitmen, bribes and navy weapons to do enterprise was indicted in New York City on expenses he imported hundreds of kilos of cocaine into the US. José Adolfo Macías Villamar — whose nickname is “Fito” — escaped from a jail in Ecuador final yr and isn’t in U.S. custody.
In 2024, the U.S. Treasury imposed sanctions on “Los Choneros.”
Earlier this yr, a frontrunner of one among Ecuador’s greatest crime syndicates, Los Lobos, was arrested at his home within the coastal metropolis of Portoviejo. Carlos D, broadly identified by his alias El Chino, was the second-in-command of Los Lobos and “thought-about a high-value goal,” the armed forces mentioned in a press release.
The U.S. last year declared Los Lobos to be the biggest drug trafficking group in Ecuador.
