The President of Ecuador, Daniel Noboa, and the humanitarian convoy he was traveling with were attacked, and 17 soldiers were kidnapped on Sunday night, according to the BBC.
Noboa stated that the Italian ambassador to Ecuador, Giovanni Davoli, and a top Vatican official, along with European Union and United Nations officials, were traveling with Noboa during the incident.
Mass civil unrest in Ecuador
Carolina Jaramillo, the Ecuadorian presidential spokeswoman, stated that the convoy was delivering aid to those affected by the large-scale protests and strikes in the region. Jaramillo also commented on the kidnapped soldiers, elaborating that their whereabouts are currently unknown.
The BBC reported that one protester was shot and killed during the demonstrations in an incident that the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador labeled a “state crime that cannot go unpunished” in a post on X/Twitter on Tuesday.
The region's UN Human Rights Council representative, Jan Jarab, stated that the violence warranted "urgent dialogue," according to the BBC.