Judge orders pretrial detention for Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas prefect Johana Núñez

A judge in Ecuador ordered pretrial detention for Johana Núñez, the prefect of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, in an investigation into alleged illicit enrichment.

The ruling came Sunday, Sept. 6, 2026, when an anticorruption judge resumed the hearing on the charges and accepted the prosecutor’s request. The judge also ordered the retention of $309,646 and prohibited the transfer or sale of assets belonging to the provincial official.

The hearing began on Sept. 2. After hearing arguments from both sides, the judge suspended the proceedings to review the case before announcing the decision. Prosecutors opened the investigation on June 8 after receiving an anonymous complaint through the Transparency Mailbox, alleging possible corruption in the provincial government.

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political persecution

According to the prosecution, Núñez increased her assets by more than $3 million between 2018 and 2025. Investigators used evidence gathered during the preliminary inquiry as the basis for filing charges.

The case also involves three members of Núñez’s family circle. Prosecutors said the three are candidates for elected office, a status certified by Ecuador’s National Electoral Council. They retain immunity during the electoral process under Article 108 of the Democracy Code.

Revolución Ciudadana, the movement that backed Núñez’s candidacy, rejected the proceedings in a Sept. 3 statement and called them a “political persecution.” The movement said Núñez had previously reported an alleged intimidation campaign against her, her relatives and collaborators. It emphasized that the case remains at an early stage, that no sentence has been issued, and that it will defend her rights to due process and the presumption of innocence.

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Enough of using institutions to persecute those who do not kneel.