Ecuador Rocked by Fuel Prices Protests as President Accuses Venezuelan Gang of Backing Unrest 

Farmers, Indigenous groups, and transport unions clashed with police in Ecuador this week while protesting over soaring fuel prices, with President Daniel Noboa accusing the Venezuelan drug gang Tren de Aragua of financing the unrest, Agence France-Presse reported. 

The protests stem from a decision Noboa made earlier this month to cut fuel subsidies, saying the move would save the country $1.1 billion. The measure resulted in diesel prices soaring from $1.80 to $2.80 per gallon. 

Diesel is essential in Ecuador for agricultural machinery and transport, and demonstrators say the price increase is threatening their livelihoods, Euronews added. Nearly a third of the population in Ecuador lives in poverty. 

Hundreds of Indigenous Ecuadorans on Tuesday took to the streets to demand the return of the subsidies, in defiance of a state of emergency declared by Noboa last week to contain violence and crime in the country. Demonstrators blocked major roads, disrupting food supplies and key sectors of the economy. However, the president warned that those who challenge the emergency would be “charged with terrorism” and be imprisoned for 30 years.

Ecuador’s powerful Conaie Indigenous group, credited with ousting three presidents between 1997 and 2005, said the protests were being violently repressed and urged supporters to “stand firm.” Organizers of the demonstrations said they expect more people to join in the coming days. 

Noboa said that the protesters were “financed and surrounded by criminals from the Tren de Aragua.”  

He posted a photo on X of several men behind bars – not clarifying who they were, why they were detained, or how they were linked to the protests – and wrote: “This is not a struggle, it’s not a protest … it’s the same mafias as always.” 

Noboa has classified the Tren de Aragua as a terrorist group for its links to rising cartel violence in the country, mirroring a designation made by the United States. 

Ecuador’s Minister of Government Zaida Rovira said Tuesday that 47 people had been arrested so far, including two foreigners suspected of links with the gang.