Luisa Gonzalez arrested as Ecuador investigates 2023 campaign funds
Ecuador’s opposition figure was detained in a money-laundering inquiry, while prosecutors have not publicly named her among those charged.
By Daniel Okafor · Business Editor
3 min read
Luisa Gonzalez arrested: Ecuador’s Citizens’ Revolution movement said its former presidential candidate was detained on October 22 in an investigation into financing for her 2023 campaign. The case involves Gonzalez, who lost presidential runoffs to President Daniel Noboa in 2023 and 2025, but the public statements described by Reuters did not conclusively establish that she had been formally charged.
Reuters reported that Gabriela Rivadeneira, leader of Citizens’ Revolution, confirmed Gonzalez’s arrest. The Attorney General’s Office said three people had been detained and would face money-laundering charges, without giving their full names.
What are prosecutors alleging about Luisa Gonzalez’s 2023 campaign?
According to the Attorney General’s Office, investigators are examining the origin of money used for election advertising from May through August 2023. Prosecutors alleged that a network of legal entities channelled about $500,000 for advertising without identifying the money’s source or the people who provided it, Reuters reported.
The office said seven people were under investigation over inconsistencies involving campaign contributions and the lawful source of the funds. The Financial Times reported that a subsequent prosecutor’s post listed initials including L. M. G. A., which the newspaper said corresponded to Gonzalez’s initials, and said charges would be brought in the following hours.
That leaves key points unresolved in the information made public: prosecutors’ initial statement did not name all three detainees, and the supplied reports do not establish whether Gonzalez herself was formally charged or what a court would do next.
How have Gonzalez and her party responded?
Gonzalez called the accusation “absurd” in a social-media post and urged supporters to unite for freedom and democracy, Reuters reported. She and other leaders of Citizens’ Revolution have characterized the case as political persecution; that is their allegation, not a finding by a court or prosecutors.
Rivadeneira said the 2023 campaign’s funds had been fully accounted for and that earlier financial penalties imposed by Ecuador’s electoral authority had been paid, according to Reuters. Former President Rafael Correa, a longtime ally of Gonzalez, also rejected the allegations.
Gonzalez is a lawyer and former National Assembly member who is associated with Correa’s Citizens’ Revolution movement. Correa served as Ecuador’s president from 2007 to 2017, and Reuters reported that Gonzalez held roles in his government before later entering the legislature.
The current inquiry is known as the Laberinto case, Al Jazeera reported. It follows a separate earlier inquiry into alleged campaign-financing irregularities, including claims involving money from Venezuela; Gonzalez has denied wrongdoing in connection with those allegations.
Local media accounts placed Gonzalez’s detention in Manabi province, while Bloomberg reported that unnamed police officials told local outlets she was taken from her home in Canuto. Citizens’ Revolution said authorities had not disclosed her precise location or allowed her legal team access, a claim reported by the Financial Times that could not be independently confirmed from the available information.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.