Ecuador Arrests Former Presidential Candidate Luisa González in Money-Laundering Probe

Ecuadorian police and prosecutors detained former presidential candidate Luisa González in the early hours of Thursday at her home in Canuto, a parish in the Chone canton of Manabí province, as part of a money-laundering investigation tied to the financing of her 2023 presidential campaign.

The arrest was a joint operation by the national police and the Fiscalía General del Estado. According to the report, arrest warrants were executed in Manabí and Pichincha against three people, with the stated purpose of formulating charges for alleged money laundering. About seven people are under investigation in total, and the warrants identify the subjects only by initials. The Fiscalía confirmed the operation after former president Rafael Correa announced it on X, and said charges would be formally presented in the coming hours. Prosecutors have said her guilt has not been determined by a court.

The Caso Laberinto case

Prosecutors say the case, known as Caso Laberinto, examines possible irregularities in political financing and electoral advertising spending during the 2023 presidential campaign, including inconsistencies in contributions and whether the funds had a lawful origin.

The case grew out of a campaign-finance dispute that was already heard by Ecuador’s electoral court. A technical report cited in the court file flagged $174,930 in undeclared electoral advertising and $6,400 in contributions without accounting support. The court fined González, her 2023 running mate Andrés Arauz and campaign financial manager Estefanía Molina $18,000 in April, the sanction was ratified in May, and the fine was paid in June, closing the electoral case. Copies of the file were then sent to prosecutors, who opened a criminal inquiry for money laundering. Revolución Ciudadana argues the dispute amounts to an administrative accounting discrepancy of roughly $6,100 and that the criminal case was “assembled in a rush.”

Caso Laberinto is distinct from Caja Chica, a separate investigation announced in January in which prosecutors allege illicit cash from Venezuela financed the 2023 campaign. Authorities have searched González’s home and the party’s Quito headquarters in that matter; Correa, Arauz and others are named in that file, and all investigated parties deny illegal financing. Authorities have not said whether the two cases are connected.

“Absurd accusation,” she says

González, 48, a lawyer born in Quito and raised in Chone, lost the presidency to Daniel Noboa in both the 2023 runoff and 2025, questioning the result after the second defeat. She had been seeking the Manabí prefecture in the November 29 local elections, backed by the Indigenous Pachakutik movement, but electoral authorities rejected her candidacy and the electoral court upheld the rejection in September.

Party leaders called the arrest political persecution. Correa wrote on X, “They arrested Luisa González. Enough!” Revolución Ciudadana president Gabriela Rivadeneira said González “has been kidnapped by this government,” demanded her immediate release, and said authorities had not disclosed where she is held or allowed her lawyers access. The movement called the case lawfare meant to sideline the opposition. No response from the Noboa government or the ADN party was available at the time of the report.

González herself called the accusation “absurd” in a post on X, compared her situation to that of a political prisoner, and urged her supporters to unite against what she called the “Noboa dictatorship,” writing: “I will respond with the dignity of Ecuadorians who owe nothing and who are committed to achieving freedom for Ecuador and a better future for the country.”

Reporting based on coverage by Sociedad Media and Bloomberg Law.