Ecuadorian soccer player was kidnapped in the coastal city of Esmeraldas

The Ecuadorian soccer player Pedro Pablo Perlazawho played until last September for Delfín in Ecuador’s first division, He was kidnapped this Monday in the coastal city of Esmeraldascapital of the province of the same name in the northwest of the country and bordering Colombia.

According to the complaint of the player’s relatives, The kidnapping occurred on Monday night in the area known as June 5, in Esmeraldas.

“The case is already in the hands of the Police anti-kidnapping unit, which received the call from Perlaza’s family,” who have indicated that “The player was intercepted by a motorist on Malecón and Manuela Cañizares streets and forcibly put into a vehicle,” according to a version published by the magazine ‘Estadio’ on its website.

The 33-year-old right defender has played for clubs such as Delfín, Liga de Quito, Independiente del Valle, Aucas and Barcelonaamong other local teams, and had a short-lived stint with the Ecuadorian team in 2022.

‘La Liza’ Perlaza, as the player is also known, reached Ecuadorian Pro League titles with Delfín (2019), Liga de Quito (2021) and Aucas (2022).

This fact added to the wave of kidnappings, extortions and murders that are reported daily in Ecuador, which for about four years has suffered an onslaught of violence in the streets and prisons.

Since the beginning of 2024, the Ecuadorian president, Daniel Noboa, elevated the fight against organized crime to the category of “internal armed conflict.” with which organized crime gangs were classified as terrorist groups.

Also this year it has issued about a dozen states of exception with actions such as the militarization of prisons, controlled by criminal structures, to try to stop the violence.

Although the Government has reported a 17 percent decrease in the number of homicides nationwide, compared to the explosion of murders that was recorded in 2023, Reports of extortion, kidnappings and murders continue to be reported daily in the country.

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