Jacobo Bucaram, son of former Ecuadorian President Abdalá Bucaram, was arrested in Guayaquil on suspicion of links to drug trafficking, Ecuador’s interior minister said. (Foto: Instagram)
Jacobo Bucaram, son of former Ecuadorian President Abdalá Bucaram, was arrested Wednesday, Nov. 4, in Guayaquil on suspicion of links to drug trafficking. Ecuador’s National Police detained him along with two other people, Interior Minister John Reimberg said.
Reimberg said the arrests showed that no one was above the law and that those facing outstanding legal claims would have to answer for them. He added that the National Police and the country’s Security Bloc were continuing to act firmly under President Daniel Noboa’s leadership.
Two additional people were arrested in Panama. Reimberg said all five detainees would be extradited to the United States. According to the minister, the five have Interpol Red Notices and are wanted by U.S. authorities over alleged offenses related to drug trafficking.
Abdalá Bucaram defended his son in posts on social media, denouncing the accusations as malicious and motivated by hostility toward his family. He said he had also been accused of drug trafficking in 1986 and was later asked to forgive those who made the accusation.
The former president said he believed in the justice system and expected his son to be acquitted. He argued that the U.S. judicial system would be fair and would not allow what he described as politically motivated efforts to prevail. He added that he expected Jacobo to be cleared in the United States and said the case would demonstrate that the Bucaram family was honorable.
