Prosecutors say three arrest warrants were executed in a money-laundering investigation involving seven people. Gonzalez denies wrongdoing, and her movement demands her release.
Ecuadorian opposition leader Luisa Gonzalez has been arrested in an investigation into alleged financing irregularities in her 2023 presidential campaign, Al Jazeera reported on October 22. Citing local media, it said she was detained in Canuto, a rural town in western Ecuador.
Gonzalez lost presidential elections to President Daniel Noboa in both 2023 and 2025. The investigation, known as the Laberinto case, follows an earlier inquiry into alleged irregular campaign financing.
Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said it had executed arrest warrants against three people suspected of money laundering—concealing the origins of illicit funds. Seven people are under investigation over alleged inconsistencies in campaign contributions and the lawful source of funds during the 2023 campaign.
Investigators are examining whether a network of entities was used to channel approximately $500,000 into campaign advertising between May and August 2023. The Attorney General’s Office alleges that money may have been transferred improperly without disclosure of its sources or contributors’ identities.
The details of any formal charges against Gonzalez and the terms of her detention remain unclear.
Gonzalez has denied wrongdoing and called the accusations “absurd”, comparing her situation to that of a political prisoner. Gabriela Rivadeneira, president of Gonzalez’s Citizen Revolution Movement, described the arrest as political persecution and demanded her immediate release.
The movement was suspended in March from participating in the next local elections. Those elections are scheduled for November 29.
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