Protests in Ecuador: a soldier died in an attack on a convoy and the government denounces a “terrorist act”

An attack by demonstrators on a caravan that was carrying fuel and was guarded by the army began on Tuesday a dead soldier and at least 12 others injured in Ecuador. Meanwhile, the government and indigenous people are trying to maintain dialogue for the second day after more than two weeks of protests that have turned violent.

The head of the joint command, General Nelson Proaño, said the attack occurred when members of the military and police were carrying out refueling operations in the Amazon.

“Armed groups outside the law have detained and attacked military and police personnel, recording … seven injured members of the military and five wounded by the police, and the destruction and fire of a vehicle,” he said.

The official added that this institution will take legal action for the Prosecutor to investigate “this terrorist act and identify the perpetrators”.

Proaño said that due to indigenous mobilizations, that affected the normal fuel supplythe Armed Forces, in coordination with the National Police and the public company Petroecuador, have articulated “the transfer of 17 diesel tankers from Shushufindi to the ITT oil block to maintain production of the hydrocarbon system and prevent its collapse”.

In turn, the Minister of the Interior, Patricio Carrillo, confirmed the death of a soldier in that attack, when the protests took place on the 16th day.

“My solidarity with the Sgop’s family. José Chimarro, a soldier killed this morning by violent demonstrators who attacked a convoy carrying fuel and collided with the Armed Forces and police in Shushufindi,” Carrillo wrote on his Twitter account .

The attack took place in the province of Orellana, 324 kilometers east of the capital. Last week in a small town near Quito there was an attack on a food convoy that left 17 soldiers seriously injured.

affirmations

Ecuador has been undergoing a national strike for two weeks called by the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities, against the high cost of living and above all the price of fuel.

The demonstrations have become violent, with road closures and bitter clashes between demonstrators – who have come to the capital from different regions of the country – and the security forces.

Already five other people died in relation to this wave of protests, which puts the right-wing government of Guillermo Lasso in check. And about 400 were injured.

The organization calls for President Guillermo Lasso’s regime to meet 10 points, including lowering the price of fuel from $ 2.45 to $ 2.10 per gallon, plus education and health budgets, and pricing of agricultural products.

For the first time in 15 days on Monday, representatives of that group and the government began to negotiate, and at the end of the first round, two points remained pending, the reduction in the value of fuel and the elimination of a decree allowing the expansion of the mining frontier.

The table must be reinstalled in the next few hours while the Assembly discusses a motion of dismissal by President Lasso presented by the Union for Hope (UNES) party linked to former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017).

But the initiative would not have the votes it needs to thrive.

Source: AP and EFE

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