رئيس الإكوادور يكشف: تعرضت لمحاولة تسميم بالشوكولاته

President of Ecuador Daniel Noboa revealed that he was the target of a poisoning attempt through chocolate and sweets given to him at a public event, which were found to contain "three chemical substances."

Noboa stated in an interview with CNN that the presence of these chemical elements "in high concentration indicates that it was intentional," but he did not point fingers at any group.

It is noteworthy that this is the second time the government has filed a complaint about an assassination attempt on the president, while the country is witnessing numerous protests from indigenous groups against public policies.

Ecuador has been experiencing protests since the 18th of last month, led by the largest indigenous organization in the country, in rejection of President Daniel Noboa's decision to eliminate government fuel subsidies on diesel.

President Noboa canceled the decades-long fuel subsidy on September 12, which raised fuel prices by more than 50%, justifying the decision by stating that the subsidy costs the state $1.1 billion annually, which he deemed detrimental to the sustainability of public finances. In response, organizations and workers announced immediate protests.

Human Rights Watch considered that despite some protesters resorting to violence, most demonstrations were peaceful, and the government responded by deploying the military, which used excessive force against demonstrators on several occasions.

Juanita Goebertus, the director of the Americas division at the organization, stated that the Ecuadorian government is obligated to respect the rights of protesters and address the underlying causes that drive citizens to take to the streets regularly.