The Ecuadorian police arrested two suspects in the murder of anti-mafia prosecutor
César Suárez
this Thursday , when the country wages a war against drug trafficking with thousands of soldiers deployed.
The authorities recognized that
"he did not have permanent police custody
," despite the violence and threats.
“They threatened me in December 2023, according to the pamphlet, because
I was not an ally of organized crime
.
They sent it on WhatsApp.
From there I maintain police custody,” says Heidy Borja Hernández,
president of the Association of Magistrates and Judges
in the province of Guayas.
Like other people in the union, she continues to practice despite the threats.
The two arrested for the death of prosecutor Suárez.
Photo: AFP
The murder of prosecutor César Suárez, in the middle of the street in Guayaquil, has revealed
the numerous failures to protect prosecutors, judges and lawyers
who are in charge of very dangerous cases.
Suárez was investigating, among other things, the attack on the TC Televisión channel.
"Because they killed him?
Well, the first violation that judges and prosecutors have in Ecuador is because
we do not have a protection system
.
There are no minimum security guarantees.
Above all, a person who had a high risk because he handled many cases against corruption, many cases against the mafia and organized crime, not just now, but for several years," explains the judge.
See this post on Instagram
A shared post from RFI Español (@rfi_es)
“There was even a prosecutor who always had delegations from the attorney general to carry out many investigations, both in the province of Guayas and in other provinces, where a high crime rate is reflected.
From what I understand, if he had police protection and that is something that the National Police will have to find out,
if they complied with the protection of the prosecutor.
Obviously not, since he was murdered,” he emphasizes.
Deadlines and budget availability
Heidy Borja Hernández regrets that, although there is a police protection protocol,
it does not work.
“There is a ministerial agreement, number 0150, which was approved by the Minister of the Interior in December 2023, in which it modifies the new protocol to grant police protection to judicial officials who require it, whether due to threat or because they are in risk," explains
And he adds: "The unfortunate thing about this protocol is that it practically
allows a period of 15 days to give you police custody
. That is, I am threatened with death and I have to wait a maximum of 15 days for police protection."
Violence boosted the sale of bulletproof vests in Ecuador.
Photo: EFE
“Likewise, this protocol requires that the Judiciary Council issue a certification of budget availability so that the cost of lodging, food and travel expenses for police custody can be covered.
And in many cases in which a judge or prosecutor is threatened, we, the judges and prosecutors in our own pockets,
end up assuming those expenses
.
And also to cover the expenses of private medical insurance and life insurance, because the Ecuadorian State does not give it to you either,” the judge emphasizes.
Judges afraid
“Of course there is fear in judges," he says and assures that this is the most worrying thing. "Especially in criminal judges.
And that fear greatly affects the performance of our duties, because you are having judges who are afraid.
That greatly affects the mental health of the judges and all that has to be considered.
Therefore, it is not simply that we are complaining as a symptom of rebellion.”
“Here we are already protesting because it is our lives that are at risk.
We are not going to settle for them simply issuing a condolence agreement and that's it
.
What we want is that more lives are not lost carrying out our duties
, especially the good judges and prosecutors in this country.
If this is an internal armed conflict, we all have to articulate efforts and we all have to be protected,” he concludes.