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Andrea Michelle Reyes Case: Woman Who Was Kidnapped as Toddler Found 25 Years Later
Jackson Rodríguez is facing a terrifying ordeal.
The Ecuadorian soccer player’s wife and 5-year-old child were kidnapped, according to the Associated Press, citing police, during an April 23 home invasion at his residence in Guayaquil.
According to police chief Édison Rodríguez, the kidnappings occurred around 3:30 in the morning.
Per the AP, Jackson, 26, told police in his testimony he hid under a bed in their home when he heard the front door being broken down, according to the police chief, and that he heard the perpetrators asking his wife if was in the house.
Police say the Emelec team defender reported seeing “the individuals were traveling in a gray-colored double-cab pickup truck” through a window.
E! News has reached out to local police for comment but has not yet heard back.
The terrifying incident occurred just ten days after the government of Ecuador declared a state of emergency in seven of its 24 provinces—including Guayas, where Guayaquil is located—saying it was needed to fight drug-related violence, according to CBS News.
The measure was imposed by President Daniel Noboa and set to last 60 days, with Noboa citing an "increase in violence, serious crime, and the intense unlawful activities of organized armed groups," according to a decree he signed, per CBS.
The order temporarily suspends legal protection against unauthorized search and entry of homes and mail, as well as freedom of assembly in addition to imposing a curfew of cities in the affected provinces, including Guayaquil.
Pedro Vilela/Getty Images
According to CBS News, the start to 2025 was along Ecuador’s bloodiest, with an average of one killing every hour. Between January and March, per the AP, 2,345 violent deaths were reported, with 742 occurring in Guayaquil.
The city—located on the coast—is reportedly among the most dangerous in the country, per the AP, with authorities saying illegal drug shipments are sent to Europe, Central America and the United States form the city’s ports.
This is not the first time an athlete has been targeted. In December 2024, soccer player Pedro Perlaza was kidnapped in Esmeraldas, a city north of the capital Quito, per CBS News.
The Liga de Quito player, per the outlet, was held hostage for three days before he was rescued, alongside a second victim, following a firefight between police and his captors.
Esmeraldas’ head of police Diego Velastegui, told reporters, “They’ve been badly treated, but they’re alive.”
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