QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — Ecuador’s government on Sunday offered a $100,000 reward for information on the whereabouts of a lawmaker whom authorities accused of raping a minor.
The case against Santiago Díaz Asque became public when he was expelled from an opposition party earlier this week. Interior Minister Jhon Reimberg in a post on X said the reward is for “true and verifiable” information on Díaz’s location.
Authorities on Wednesday raided three properties linked to the case, but prosecutor’s have declined to provide details of the investigation.
Díaz requested unpaid leave from the National Assembly after he was kicked out of the Citizen Revolution party, but it was denied. He also published a letter in which he rejected the accusation and characterized it as at attempt to “silence my incorruptible and critical voice.”