MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Quito fires lead Noboa to cancel UN engagements and return to Ecuador

At least six people were killed in the Ecuadorean capital

Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa Wednesday halted his agenda in New York and returned to his country after a suspect was arrested in connecting with arson maneuvers in Quito that have the country's capital under fire. The head of state also explained that terrorism charges would be filed against the perpetrator, who would thus face between 10 to 13 years in prison.

“After the apprehension of a person, allegedly related to the fire in Guápulo, the FGE practices the first proceedings, prior to the hearing in which his legal situation will be resolved,” Ecuador's Attorney General's Office (FGE) said in a statement.

“After investigative and operational work carried out in Quito, we captured a subject, allegedly involved in the forest fire in the sector of Guápulo, who was placed under the orders of the competent authority,” the National Police pointed out in a separate document.

Quito Mayor Pábel Muñoz Wednesday declared an emergency in Quito after at least six people were killed and over 100 families needed to be evacuated while six houses were reported destroyed.

Noboa insisted that the wave of fires shaking his country was a tragedy “as a country, not as a government or as a municipality, but as a country.” He made those remarks while chairing the emergency committee after returning from New York, where he canceled his participation in the United Nations General Assembly.