23 DISAPPERANCES, SEARCH EFFORTS STALLED [Ecuador 15.25]

Dear Attorney General,

I am gravely concerned about the disappearance of at least 23 men in the provinces of Los Rios, Guayas, and Esmeraldas, as denounced by relatives of those disappeared and confirmed by the documentation of the local NGO CDH Guayaquil. According to their families, victims were last seen after military operations carried out throughout 2024, as part of President Daniel Noboa’s security policy known as “Plan Fénix”. In all cases, families and witnesses have pointed to members of the Armed Forces as the alleged perpetrators.

The victims include: Bruno Rodríguez, Fardi Muñoz, Cirilo Minota, Oswaldo Morales, Neivi Quiñonez, Ariel Cheme, Jordy Morales, Dave Robin Loor Roca, Juan Santillan, Jairo Tapia, Dalton Ruiz, Cristian Sandoya, Oscar Adrihan, Jonathan Adrihan, Jeampier Castañeda, Justin Valverde, Justin Alvarez, Fabricio Alvarado, Jason Franco, Miguel Morán, Kleiner Pisco, Carlos Pisco, and Jonathan Villon Velazco, according to CDH Guayaquil.

CDH Guayaquil has denounced that public prosecutors have failed to examine the allegations of enforced disappearances, an obligation imposed on Ecuadorian authorities by the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

I call on the Public Prosecutor’s Office to immediately carry out exhaustive search efforts for those missing, and to investigate these events as cases of possible enforced disappearances as per Article 84 of Ecuador’s Criminal Code and in line with international law and standards.

Yours sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]