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🇪🇨 Ecuador /Crime & Justice

Prosecutors seek pretrial detention for Santo Domingo prefect Johana Núñez

From El Comercio · () Spanish

Translated from Spanish and summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Official statement In the courts
  • Prosecutors requested pretrial detention for Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas prefect Johana Núñez during a charging hearing over alleged illicit enrichment.
  • Investigators presented her asset declarations, which they say show that her wealth doubled between her first term and reelection.
  • Three other people linked to the case were not charged because they are candidates in the Nov. 29, 2026 elections and have electoral immunity.

Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office requested pretrial detention for Johana Núñez, the prefect of Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, during a charging hearing on Wednesday, Sept. 2, 2026. The request concerns an alleged illicit-enrichment offense.

Prosecutors presented evidence from their investigation and said detention would ensure Núñez’s presence in the proceedings. Among the materials submitted were her sworn asset declarations.

According to those documents, Núñez’s assets doubled between her first period leading the prefecture and her subsequent reelection. Núñez has held the post since 2019, when she won with the backing of an alliance between Democracia Sí and Construir. She won reelection in 2023 with Somos Todos, an alliance formed by Revolución Ciudadana and Construir.

The case also names Wilmer David R. O., Fabián Alexander R. O. and Gabriel Antonio R. N. They have not been prosecuted because they are candidates in the Nov. 29, 2026 elections and are protected by electoral immunity.

About this summary

Originally published by El Comercio in Spanish. Translated, summarized, and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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