By Kylie Madry
(Reuters) -Ecuadorean President Daniel Noboa was traveling to a rural town by car on Tuesday when his convoy was met by angry protestors who threw rocks at the vehicle, in what his government has described as an attempt on his life.
WHAT HAPPENED?
Videos showed windows cracking as Noboa’s car was pelted by stones thrown by protestors who were blocking the road he and aides were taking to an event at a new sewage works.
The government said five people were detained in the incident. Prosecutors have said they intend to charge them with attempted homicide.
WHY WAS HIS CAR ATTACKED?
Indigenous and other rural groups launched widespread protests last month after Noboa ended a subsidy on consumer diesel prices. Protests have spread, leading Noboa to declare states of emergency in a number of provinces.
Noboa’s convoy came upon a roadblock when protestors began throwing stones. He was traveling through the inland town of El Tambo as part of a tour to inaugurate infrastructure projects in impoverished areas.
WAS THIS AN ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT?
Noboa and his government have condemned the attack as an assassination attempt, alleging that his car was shot at.
Video footage showed one woman in traditional Indigenous dress being marched off by police officers.
The five people arrested are expected to appear in court on Wednesday for a preliminary hearing where a judge will decide whether to accept the attempted homicide charges. Authorities are also looking to arrest others in the attack, Interior Minister John Reimberg said.
CONTROVERSY
Ecuador’s largest Indigenous group, the CONAIE, has rejected the Noboa administration’s claims that the incident constituted an assassination attempt.
The group said that the president’s trip through the area where a roadblock was in place was a deliberate provocation used as justification for a violent repression.
They added that the accusations were “meant to criminalize Indigenous and popular movements to divert attention from Ecuador’s severe social, economic and political crisis.”
WAS HIS CAR SHOT AT?
The government has said that Noboa’s car, a blacked-out Chevrolet Suburban, presented evidence of “bullet damage.”
But authorities still plan to conduct a forensic investigation to confirm the vehicle was actually fired upon. Photos and videos showed where an object had impacted the window of the car, though Reuters was not able to independently verify whether the damage had been caused by a bullet or a rock.
HOW DID THIS HAPPEN?
It is unclear why Noboa’s caravan drove toward a roadblock.
Reimberg said his office was opening an investigation into whether the proper security measures were taken to protect Noboa.
WIDER CONTEXT
Noboa has moved to contain the Indigenous-led protests with a twin carrot-and-stick policy. While he has deployed the military to disperse protestors, he has also promised the funds coming from the canceled diesel subsidy will now go toward social programs.
Still, the attack demonstrates wider discontent with Noboa’s policies. His government has frequently used emergency powers to tackle the country’s exploding crime rate.
WHAT ARE NOBOA’S POLITICS?
Noboa, a banana mogul-turned-politician who was reelected in April, has pledged to tackle the country’s spiraling crime rate while implementing austerity measures to improve the state’s finances.
He has become closer to U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration, looking for security backing.
(Reporting by Kylie Madry; Editing by Christian Plumb and Alistair Bell)
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