QUITO (Realist English). Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa escaped unharmed on Tuesday after protesters attacked his motorcade with rocks and what officials said appeared to be gunfire, amid widespread demonstrations against the government’s removal of diesel subsidies.
According to Environment and Energy Minister Inés Manzano, the president’s vehicle sustained “signs of bullet damage” during the assault in the southern Cañar province, where about 500 demonstrators confronted the convoy. “Shooting at the president’s car, throwing stones, damaging state property — that’s just criminal,” Manzano said, adding that five suspects were arrested and charged with terrorism and attempted assassination.
The unrest began more than two weeks ago after Noboa’s administration ended a long-standing diesel subsidy, raising prices from $1.80 to $2.80 per gallon as part of a fiscal tightening plan. The move sparked nationwide strikes organized by CONAIE, the country’s powerful indigenous federation, which has set up roadblocks and clashed with security forces across multiple provinces.
Over the weekend, Noboa declared a state of emergency in 10 provinces, including the capital Quito, authorizing the deployment of military units to restore order. Speaking hours after Tuesday’s attack during a visit to Cuenca, Ecuador’s third-largest city, the president vowed to respond firmly: “Such attacks will not be accepted in Ecuador.”
CONAIE, meanwhile, accused security forces of “brutal police and military action,” claiming that at least five demonstrators had been “arbitrarily detained.”
The assault marked the second attempt on Noboa’s motorcade in less than two weeks. On September 28, the convoy was targeted with Molotov cocktails in the northern Imbabura province, where clashes left one civilian dead and 17 soldiers briefly taken hostage. Italy’s ambassador to Quito, Giovanni Davoli, who was travelling with UN and EU officials at the time, denounced that attack as “a terrorist act against Ecuador’s head of state.”
Noboa, re-elected in April on a hardline anti-crime platform, has accused protesters of “resisting Ecuador’s progress and choosing violence.” Once among South America’s safest nations, Ecuador has seen its murder rate increase fivefold since 2020, driven largely by drug trafficking and gang violence.
The political stakes continue to rise ahead of a November 16 referendum, when voters will decide whether to allow U.S. military bases on Ecuadorian soil — a proposal Noboa argues is vital to strengthen the fight against organized crime.
