| Mobile Squads | |
|---|---|
| Escuadrones volantes | |
| Active | 1985–1988 |
| Country |  Ecuador |
| Agency | National Police of Ecuador |
| Type | Special forces |
The Escuadrones volantes (lit. "flying squads", English: Mobile squads), also known as Escuadrones de la muerte (Death squads),[1][2] were elite units of the National Police of Ecuador that were created in May 1985 by conservative President León Febres-Cordero Ribadeneyra. The units launched a systematic, government-backed campaign of human rights violations and acts of torture in the name of fighting crime and subversion.[3] According to a report submitted by the Truth Commission—created in 2007 by the Office of the Attorney General of Ecuador—during the three years that they were in operation, the mobile squads perpetrated 32 extrajudicial killings, 12 attacks, and 9 enforced disappearances, and were involved in 214 cases of unlawful imprisonment, 275 acts of torture, and 72 cases of sexual abuse.[1] Among the most notorious crimes perpetrated by the mobile squads are those of the Restrepo Arismendi brothers, Professor Consuelo Benavides,[1] and blue-collar worker Jaime Otavalo, as well as Arturo Jarrín and Fausto Basantes, leaders of subversive groups. Febres-Cordero always refused to assume responsibility for the crimes and claimed not to have authorized any of the instances of torture or murder.[4] However, Juan Vela—who was a member of the Social Christian Party along with Febres-Cordero during the latter’s administration—confessed to the Truth Commission that the former president had given the order to carry out acts of torture.[5] The mobile squads were eliminated in 1988 by President Rodrigo Borja Cevallos, who succeeded Febres-Cordero.[6]
- ^ a b c Arellano, Carlos (29 April 2018). "León Febres- Cordero". La Hora (in Spanish). Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "García: "En el gobierno de León Febres Cordero, las trans éramos perseguidas"". El Telégrafo (in Spanish). 28 January 2016. Archived from the original on 17 January 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "El discurso que justificó una "masacre" política". El Telégrafo (in Spanish). 27 February 2012. Archived from the original on 12 April 2021. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "Cuestionamientos por combate contra la subversión". El Universo (in Spanish). 17 September 2008. Archived from the original on 21 December 2008. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ "365 personas fueron sometidas a 25 tipos de tortura, dice Comisión". El Comercio (in Spanish). 13 June 2010. Archived from the original on 29 June 2020. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
- ^ Buendía, Silvia (2019). "Desde la vergüenza hacia el orgullo. El trayecto que nos permitió dejar de ser delincuentes y empezar a ser ciudadanos". In Viteri, María Amelia (ed.). Violencia, géneros y derechos en el territorio (PDF) (in Spanish). Quito, Ecuador: Ediciones Abya-Yala. pp. 113–138. ISBN 9789942096333. Retrieved 2 February 2024.