Touriz was found in a house on Trinitaria Island, southwest of Guayaquil. Photo taken from 5septiembre.cu

Havana, Aug 10 (RHC) Ecuador's Interior Minister Juan Zapata confirmed Wednesday that the police rescued Maria Antonieta Touriz, dean of the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Guayaquil, alive.

He also indicated that one person has been arrested for the crime, and the investigations to find the other perpetrators continue.

Local media reported that Touriz was found in a house in Trinitaria Island, in the southwest of Guayaquil, Guayas province, where the police have deployed a mega security operation.

Isla Trinitaria is a poor neighborhood located in the southern district, one of the most dangerous in the city, due to its high rate of violent deaths. It is also a disputed territory between gangs linked to drug trafficking.

The official was kidnapped by at least three armed men who intercepted the vehicle in which she was traveling with a professor of medicine, who was driving.

The Ecuadorian city of Guayaquil stands out today as one of the 50 most violent cities in the world, according to a survey recently published by the Citizen Council for Public Safety and Criminal Justice of Mexico (Source: Prensa Latina).