Ecuador’s Jailed Mayor Aquiles Álvarez Has Gallbladder Surgery in a Guayaquil Clinic
POLITICS · ECUADOR
Key Facts
- —The country Ecuador. Guayaquil is its main port and commercial centre. Its mayor, Aquiles Álvarez, has been in custody since his arrest on 10 February 2026.
- —What happened On Friday 2 October 2026 he was driven from the Cárcel del Encuentro prison in Santa Elena to Guayaquil’s Clínica Alcívar, arriving about 18:45, and operated on that night (Expreso, Primicias).
- —Who is involved The SNAI prison service, which cited a gallbladder condition; Health Ministry doctors who examined him in prison; and his lawyer Julio César Cueva, who reported the surgery.
- —What it means for you Police and soldiers guarded the clinic in southern Guayaquil on 2 October, and crowds of supporters changed traffic nearby, Primicias and Expreso reported.
- —Still open No official medical bulletin had been published by Saturday morning, 3 October. The date of his return to prison has not been announced.
Aquiles Álvarez, the jailed mayor of Guayaquil in Ecuador, had gallbladder surgery in a private clinic late on Friday 2 October. The prison service moved him there after Health Ministry doctors said he needed specialised care.
His lawyer said at 22:50 that the operation had gone “without incident” and that the mayor was in post-operative recovery. It was his second emergency trip to the same clinic since July.
What the prison service said
The SNAI, the agency that runs Ecuador’s prisons, announced the transfer on Friday afternoon. It said Health Ministry staff had examined Álvarez at the prison’s own clinic in Santa Elena province.
According to its statement, quoted by Expreso and Primicias, doctors found he needed specialised care for “a condition of the gallbladder”. The SNAI said it would coordinate the transfer and treatment under established procedures.
From a planned flight to a road convoy
He was initially due to be flown to Guayaquil, Expreso reported. His lawyer Julio César Cueva later said the weather ruled out a flight, so he travelled by road in an ambulance.
He reached the Clínica Alcívar at about 18:45, Expreso reported. Primicias said he wore an orange prison uniform and raised his handcuffed hands to supporters. Supporters and his wife, Fiorella Ycaza, were waiting outside.
After the first tests, Cueva said the gallbladder was inflamed and doctors advised operating that night. He said the Health Ministry chose the clinic and the defence accepted it.
Cueva said a laparoscopic procedure was planned, with about 48 hours of observation if there were no complications. Police kept a special security protocol, known as Code Silver, active around the building.
A dispute over his care since July
Álvarez was first taken to the same clinic on 8 July 2026 over gallbladder problems, but was not operated on. Interior Minister John Reimberg said at the time that the mayor had refused the recommended surgery.
Ycaza denied that, telling Primicias the family only wanted the operation postponed and scheduled. He returned to prison the same day.
On 7 September the Health Ministry declined to authorise a planned private operation, Expreso reported. It said the public network could provide the care. The defence challenged that decision in a letter to the SNAI.
Three cases behind the detention
Álvarez was arrested in a pre-dawn raid on 10 February in the “Goleada” money laundering case. In March a court ordered him jailed in a second case, and he was moved to the Santa Elena prison.
On 16 September a Guayas appeals court upheld his three-year sentence in the “Grillete” case, over an electronic ankle monitor. The defence plans a cassation appeal to the National Court of Justice, Expreso reported.
In the “Triple A” fuel trafficking case, Expreso reported, he received six years and eight months. He was also ordered to pay the state US$61.5 million. The Goleada investigation continues.
Vice mayor Tatiana Coronel runs City Hall as acting mayor. In June the city council voted not to remove Álvarez from office, Expreso reported.
Álvarez denies wrongdoing and has accused President Daniel Noboa of political persecution. The government has said the prosecutions are ordinary law enforcement.
What Is Not Yet Known
Neither the clinic nor the Health Ministry had issued a medical report by Saturday morning. The details so far come from his lawyer. The SNAI has not said when Aquiles Álvarez will return to the Cárcel del Encuentro.
It is also unclear whether the government and the defence will now settle their dispute over where he is treated. The appeal deadlines in the Grillete case run from the written ruling, whose notification date has not been reported.
Sources: Primicias, 2 Oct 2026; Expreso (SNAI statement), 2 Oct 2026; Expreso (road transfer), 2 Oct 2026; Expreso (arrival and cases), 2 Oct 2026; Expreso (surgery), 2 Oct 2026; Expreso, 11 Sep 2026; Expreso, 17 Sep 2026; Primicias, 8 Jul 2026.
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief