Ecuador judge denies bail for Guayaquil mayor, keeps him jailed

A judge in Ecuador has denied a bail request from the imprisoned mayor of Guayaquil, Aquiles Alvarez, a prominent opposition leader challenging President Daniel Noboa. The decision means Alvarez will remain in preventive detention as investigations continue into two separate cases.

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The judge recognizes that the law does not prohibit bail, but denies it because she considers that it does not guarantee the appearance of the accused. Then repeal electronic shackles, periodic reporting, prohibition of leaving the country too.

Alvarez had sought to post bail to suspend the effects of one of the two preventive detention orders against him. His lawyer, David Norero, expressed frustration with the ruling, noting that while the judge acknowledged bail is not legally prohibited, she denied it, deeming it insufficient to guarantee Alvarez's appearance in court. Norero argued that if the standard is absolute certainty of appearance, then only preventive detention would suffice, effectively turning precautionary measures into anticipatory punishment.

The mayor's request for bail was made in connection with a case where he is accused of tampering with an electronic monitoring device. This device had been placed on him as part of an investigation into alleged illegal commercialization and distribution of hydrocarbons, a case known as 'Triple A.' The alleged tampering was reportedly discovered on February 10, the same day Alvarez was arrested at his home for a separate investigation into alleged money laundering, termed 'Goleada,' also linked to fuel sales.

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No precautionary measure guarantees absolute results, and if the standard becomes total guarantee of appearance, then the only possible measure will always be preventive detention.

While the prosecution claims Alvarez removed the device, his defense denies this. A judge had previously ordered him into preventive detention for the 'Goleada' case. However, he is currently held in the maximum-security 'Encuentro' prison, built under Noboa's initiative and inspired by El Salvador's model, for the 'Triple A' case, as the money laundering order was revoked. The defense maintains that no precautionary measure guarantees absolute results and criticizes the system's reliance on detention.

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And if the only response of the system is preventive detention, we are no longer facing a precautionary measure. We are facing an anticipatory sentence.