Oct. 8 (UPI) — The motorcade of President Daniel Noboa Azin came under protester attack Tuesday in central Ecuador, according to officials who are vowing to hold those responsible to account. Protesters, meanwhile, are accusing the president of inciting the violence.
Video of the incident posted to the official X account of the office of the president shows the caravan driving through a road littered with concrete rubble and lined by hundreds of masked protesters holding Ecuadorian flags and throwing rocks at the vehicles.
“No one can come and take by force the capital that belongs to all Ecuadorians,” Noboa said in a statement following the incident.
“Those who choose violence will be met by the law. Those who act like criminals will be treated as criminals.”
Esta maƱana en CaƱar la caravana presidencial sufriĆ³ ataques violentos obedeciendo Ć³rdenes de radicalizaciĆ³n. Intentaron impedir, por la fuerza, la entrega de obras destinadas a mejorar la vida de comunidades en esta provincia.
Atacaron la integridad del presidente… pic.twitter.com/Mu4f82MgFUā Presidencia Ecuador (@Presidencia_Ec) October 8, 2025
The incident occurred Tuesday morning in Canar Province where Noboa’s office said he was to announce development projects.
His office said the caravan had been “the target of violent attacks.”
“These cowardly acts will not halt his commitment to building a safer, stronger and more united Ecuador.”
The incident comes amid tensions between the presidency and Ecuador’s Indigenous community following the government’s discontinuation of a diesel fuel subsidy.
In response to the attack, the Governing Council of the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador accused the president and his administration of antagonizing the protesters by specifically driving through what it called “a zone of resistance.”
“This incident, far from being an accident, constitutes a provocation by the national government,” it said in a statement, accusing it of using such incidents to justify its repression of protests.
“We reiterate that our mobilizations are legitimate, born from state neglect and structural exclusion. The Indigenous movement is not terrorist; it is a historic movement of struggle for life, dignity and the rights of peoples.”
There have been roadblocks and demonstrations by Indigenous and student organizations since last month when on Sept. 13 the price of a gallon of diesel fuel shot up by a dollar when the subsidies were cancel via executive decree to save the government more than $1.1 billion a year.
