Man charged with ‘sabotage’ for Saturday morning blackouts; Attorney General won’t attend Assembly hearing; Cuenca drought is over but not the country’s

A man has been charged with “sabotage” in connection with nationwide power outages that occurred early Saturday morning. According to Energy Minister Inés Manzano, 27-year-old Ángel B. was arrested near a power station on the Quevedo-Santo Domingo high voltage line, west of Quito. A “disruption” in the line was responsible for the blackouts, the ministry reported earlier Saturday.

Manzano provided no details regarding possible motives or how the alleged sabotage was carried out, although she had complained Friday of “multiple acts of vandalism” committed near power stations.

Energy Minister Inés Manzano

Most of the country experienced power outages from about 1 a.m. Saturday to 5:30 a.m., with blackouts lasting from 15 minutes to five hours. In Cuenca, most customers lost power for about three hours.

The blackouts came the day after the government ended nearly three months of scheduled blackouts due to drought conditions on hydroelectric generation.

Attorney General won’t attend Assembly hearing
Attorney General Diana Salazar says she will not comply with a summons to appear before the National Assembly Oversight Commission and refuses to say where she is. She announced two weeks ago that she will work remotely due to her pregnancy, now in its 42nd week.

In response to questions about her whereabouts, Salazar said it was “a private matter related to my pregnancy,” adding that providing an address would only be useful for “criminals who want to end my life.”

Assembly Oversight Commission leadership said it wanted to question Salazar regarding the leak of telephone conversations of assassinated presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The conversations were allegedly on the Villavicencio’s cell phone, obtained by prosecutors following his death in August 2023.

Citizens Revolution Assemblywoman Pamela Aguirre claimed last week that the public had “a right to know her [Salazar’s] current location and status.” On several occasions, Salazar has said some members of the Assembly have connections to drug traffickers who have made death threats against her and her family.

Cuenca’s drought is over but not the country’s
Cuenca’s public utility company ETAPA has declared an end to the city’s 160-day “hydrological drought.” According to ETAPA Deputy Manager Rigoberto Guerrero, the improved flow rates of the Tomebamba and Machángara Rivers are responsible for the decision although he said lower than average flows of the Tarqui and Yanuncay Rivers remain a concern.

“The watershed that supports our rivers has been recharged with recent rains and the forecast is for above average rainfall through the rest of December and January,” Guerrero said. He added that improved hydrological conditions means the emergency status for Cuenca’s drinking water system has been lifted. “The city’s potable water situation has improved with the higher volume of the rivers and we see no problem with the system for the foreseeable future,” he said.

Guerrero cautioned that ending the drought designation applies only to Cuenca and drought conditions continue in other parts of the country. “The decision is only for the Cuenca canton and does not mean problems in other areas or with hydroelectric generation are over.”