Five people have been arrested following an alleged assassination attempt on Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa, according to the country’s energy minister Ines Manzano.
Axar.az informs, citing CNN, Noboa’s car was surrounded by a group of around 500 people throwing rocks as he traveled in a convoy to Cañar province, where he was scheduled to announce a set of infrastructure projects, the minister said Tuesday.
Signs of bullet damage were later found on the car, according to the minister, but Noboa was not hurt in the attack.
A video released by the Ecuadorian presidency shows hundreds of people on both sides of the road, many waving arms and shouting, surging forward as the motorcade approaches. Members of the crowd throw rocks toward the vehicles, hitting and cracking some of the windows. In the background, a panicked voice can be heard warning passengers to duck.
Authorities said those detained will face terrorism and attempted murder charges.
“Shooting at the president’s car, throwing stones, damaging state property – that’s just criminal,” Manzano said Tuesday after formally filing a report of an assassination attempt against Noboa, according to Reuters. “We will not allow this.”