Police reported that the wife and 5-year-old child of Ecuadorian football player Jackson Rodríguez were kidnapped earlier on Wednesday when the man broke into their home in search of Emelec defender and they told investigators he was hiding under the bed.
The kidnapping occurred around 3 a.m. in the coastal city GuayaquilPolice Chief Édison Rodríguez said.
According to the police chief, the 26-year-old defender said in his testimony to police that he was hiding under the bed when he heard the front door was broken down. The perpetrator asked Rodríguez if he was in the residence and took Rodriguez’s wife and children.
According to police, Rodríguez saw “an individual traveling in a gray dual-drive pickup truck” in a window.
Gustavo Garello/AP
The incident occurred 10 days ago by the government in nine regions of the country, including the province of Guayas where Guayas belongs. The measure enables the mobilization of security forces in these territories to combat organized criminal groups, which authorities blame on waves of violence.
Ecuador “Los Freddy Kruegers” and “Peaky Blinders” – Participate in trafficking, kidnapping and extortion.
The government said insecurity and crime plagued Ecuador for four years, increasing in the first few months of the year. Between January and March, 2,345 violent deaths were reported, with 742 in Guayaguir, about 170 miles southwest of the capital Quito.
Port cities are considered one of the most dangerous areas in the country. From these ports, illegal drug transport was sent to Europe, Central America and the United States.
In the past, other athletes have been targeted. In December, football player Pedro Perlaza, who played for Liga de Quito, was kidnapped in Esmeraldas, a city about 115 miles northwest of Quito. He is Rescue alive A few days later.
U.S. gangs targeting Ecuador
President Daniel NoboaHe re-elected the second term of the election earlier this month, and he recommended deploying U.S. special forces to Ecuador to deal with drug violence and to carry out floating legal reforms to get our bases to operate in the country.
At least two well-known Ecuadorian gang leaders targeting the United States made headlines this year. Earlier this month Prosecuted in New York He accused thousands of pounds of cocaine imported into the United States. José Adolfo Macías Villamar (nicknamed “Fito”) escaped from a prison in Ecuador last year and was not in US custody.
In 2024, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on “Los Choneros”.
Earlier this year, the leader of Los Lobos, one of Ecuador’s largest criminal groups, was Arrested at his home In the coastal city of Portoviejo. Carlos D, widely known as his alias El Chino, is the second appointment of Los Lobos and is “considered as a high-value target.” The Armed Forces said in a statement.
this Last year, the United States announced Los Lobos Become the largest drug trafficking organization in Ecuador.
