El Tambo Mayor Detained in Peculado Probe, Preventive Prison Ordered

René Alonso Castillo Ortiz, mayor of the canton of El Tambo in Ecuador, was arrested together with councilor Edison Marcelo Espinoza Urgilez and event promoter Gabriel Gerardo Ortiz Abad during the police operation “Templo del Sol” on 4 August 2026. The three were taken into custody, their homes and the municipal offices were searched, and electronic devices and documentation were seized.

A judge ordered preventive detention for the three on 5 August 2026 and imposed a prohibition on the sale of assets worth US$16,515 each. The investigation by the Fiscalía General del Estado, supported by a Contraloría General del Estado report, alleges peculado linked to the organization of an international concert celebrating the 33rd anniversary of El Tambo’s cantonization. Prosecutors say 3,200 tickets were issued, generating US$83,000 in revenue, but $49,545 of the proceeds were not accounted for. The mayor is accused of presenting only 1,178 unsold tickets to auditors, while the handling of the remaining tickets remains unexplained. If convicted, the alleged peculado carries a penalty of 10 to 13 years in prison.