Indigenous leader arrested in Ecuador amid protests over high fuel prices
An indigenous leader in Ecuador has been arrested by police for inciting protests against rising fuel prices.
According to police, Leonidas Iza, the leader of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (Conaie), was arrested in Pastocalle, in the center of the Andes.
The confederation had called for demonstrations against gasoline prices, and in favor of setting minimum prices for agricultural products and stopping extending mining and oil projects.
Demonstrators allegedly destroyed police vehicles, attacked and damaged private cars, broke into private flower fields in the center of the country, and destroyed public property in the center of the capital, officials said.
Iza has also called on his followers to overthrow the government of President Guillermo Lasso.
"The arrest of the masterminds and perpetrators of these acts of violence has begun," Lasso said. "It is now up to the prosecutor's office and the judiciary to act, because no one is above the law."
Conaie said in a statement that the arrest of the 39-year-old Iza was "arbitrary and illegal."
"We call our organizational structure to a great Indigenous and popular uprising," Conaie tweeted hours after Iza's arrest. "Long live the social struggle!"
Human rights groups in Ecuador have warned that arresting the country's indigenous leader could escalate violence and unrest.
An oil-producing country, Ecuador has been facing a sharp rise in fuel prices in recent years. This has increased inflation and unemployment and has caused public dissatisfaction. Fuel prices have risen sharply since 2020, almost doubling for diesel from $1 to $1.90 per gallon (about 3.78 liters) and rising from $1.75 to $2.55 for gasoline.
Conaie wants the fuel price lowered to $1.50 per gallon for diesel and $2.10 for gasoline.
The confederation has previously ousted three presidents between 1997 and 2005 with the help of indigenous people.
Indigenous people make up more than one million of Ecuador's population of 17.7 million.
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