Legal developments in arson and corruption cases in Chile and Ecuador

In Chañaral, Chile, a suspect has been placed in preventive detention following charges of simple threats and arson. According to Chief Prosecutor Nicolás Meléndez Chacón, the individual and an accomplice allegedly threatened a victim with a knife at a residence in the Balneario Flamenco sector. The suspects also reportedly threatened residents at a second property before returning to the first home to deliberately set it on fire, resulting in the total destruction of the structure.

In Ecuador, former Machala mayor Darío Macas Salvatierra and his wife, Carmen Chávez Pérez, are scheduled for an appeal hearing regarding their preventive detention on October 19. The hearing, to be held virtually before the Pichincha Provincial Court, is part of an investigation into alleged illicit enrichment involving approximately $6 million linked to the family's environment. The case is being pursued by the State Attorney General's Office and the State Attorney General's Office.