Police rescue wife and five-year-old son of Guayaquil football player from kidnappers

In a Thursday night raid, National Police rescued the wife and 5-year-old son of Guayaquil football player Jackson Rodríguez. The two were kidnapped 24 hours earlier in a home invasion by members of the Los Tiguerones gang, police say.

Guayaquil Emelec footballer Jackson Rodríguez

The kidnappings took place around 3 a.m. Wednesday at Rodriguez’s Guayaquil home, police chief Pablo Dávila said.

In his statement to police, the 26-year-old mid-fielder for Emelec, said he avoided capture by hiding hid under a bed after he heard the front door being broken down, according to Dávila.

The perpetrators took Rodriguez’s wife and child after asking the wife if Rodríguez was home. It is unclear if the assailants intended to kidnap Rodríguez or kill him. “It is possible he was targeted for a hit by the gang,” Dávila said.

Acting on phone tips, the police Anti-Kidnapping and Extortion Unit raided an abandoned sugarcane storage shed in northwest Guayaquil to make the rescue. Two captors fled the scene as police arrived.

According to Davila, the kidnapper first asked for a $500,000 ransom. “This was reduced to $250,000 just before police personnel arrived,” Davila said, adding that no ransom was paid.

The abduction occurred amid a state of emergency declared 10 days ago by the government in nine areas of the country, including the province of Guayas, that includes Guayaquil. The measure allows the mobilization of security forces in those territories to combat the operations of organized crime groups, which authorities blame for the wave of violence.

Insecurity and crime have plagued Guayaquil and other coastal cities for four years, with an increase in the first few months of the year, according to the government. Between January and March, 2,345 violent deaths were reported, 742 of which occurred in Guayaquil, 168 miles southwest of Quito.

Other Ecuadorian athletes have been targeted in the past. In December 2024, soccer player Pedro Perlaza, who played for Liga de Quito, was kidnapped in Esmeraldas, a city 113 miles northwest of Quito, and rescued a few days later.