Kelvin Vicente Torres Cueva was taken into police custody during a drug trafficking police operation: Operation Cyclone. He was detained with a warrant pursuant to the suspicion that he was connected to a drug trafficking ring based on his kinship to a known drug lord. He was held incommunicado for 38 days and subject to beatings by hooded men as well as mock executions. He was detained for four years when his charges were dismissed. The dismissal did not immediately result in release based on domestic legislation which required any drug-related charges to be reviewed by a higher court before executing a dismissal judgment. He was not released until two years later following unanswered habeas petitions and other appeals proceedings. In a friendly settlement, Ecuador accepted their international responsibility and sought reparative steps.
Citation: Kelvin Vicente Torres Cueva v. Ecuador (Friendly Settlement) IACHR (5 October 2000) Report No. 100/00