Ecuador judge orders pre-trial detention of former leftist candidate Luisa González

An Ecuadorian judge on Friday ordered former left-wing presidential candidate Luisa González to remain in pre-trial detention after her arrest the previous day in the rural town of Canuto on alleged money-laundering charges. Prosecutors are investigating seven people over financing for the 2023 presidential campaign, including $500,000 spent on advertising; González denies wrongdoing and calls the charges “absurd.” González, her Citizen Revolution party and former President Rafael Correa have denounced the arrest as political persecution. She lost to President Daniel Noboa in the April 2025 runoff and rejected the result as fraudulent.