Aquiles Álvarez denies involvement in El Encuentro prison unrest

The legal defense for Guayaquil Mayor Aquiles Álvarez has denied allegations that he is involved in organizing hunger strikes or unrest within the El Encuentro prison. The denials follow comments made by Interior Minister John Reimberg, who suggested on social media that certain individuals in the facility were attempting to act as leaders among the inmates.

Álvarez’s attorney, Julio César Cueva, stated that the mayor has remained isolated in the prison's medical clinic for the past 14 days, preventing any contact with other inmates to coordinate protests. The defense has requested a handwriting expert analysis (pericia grafotécnica) of a letter currently held by the National Service for the Integral Attention to Persons Deprived of Liberty and Adolescents in Conflict with the Law (SNAI), which allegedly incited a strike. The defense maintains that Álvarez had no intellectual or material involvement in the document or the proposed actions.