Lasso appoints a new interior minister in Ecuador after dismissing the previous one for a feminicide

Sep. 25 () –

The President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, has announced the appointment of Juan Zapata as the new Minister of the Interior, hours after dismissing Patricio Carrillo for police omissions that facilitated the escape of Germán Cáceres, husband and main suspect in the murder of lawyer María Belén Bernal.

“To lead the structural change that the Ministry of the Interior needs, I have appointed Juan Zapata as its new head. Great professional, qualified to provide the support we need at this moment. He will have the full support of the Government in this new mission”, Lasso has published in his Twitter profile.

The newly appointed, held the position of president of the National Emergency Operations Committee (national COE) since 2020 and general director of the Ecuadorian Integrated Security Service.

This Friday, the Ecuadorian president also requested that “the high commands” of the National Police (although he did not specify who) put their positions at his disposal and demanded the resignation of generals Freddy Goyes and Geovanni Ponce.

Lasso reiterated that in the same way he has defended the work of the National Police, he “will be the first” to demand an answer, reason why he has given a term of seven days to the general commander of the entity, Fausto Salinas, to deliver results that lead to the arrest of Caceres.