“We need an investigation of the Progen contract in Ecuador, not in the United States,” National Assemblyman Alfredo Serrano said Tuesday. His demand followed President Daniel Noboa’s announcement that the government is suing the U.S.-based company for failure to follow terms of a $149 million contract to deliver mobile electric generators and defrauding Ecuador of more $108 million.
Electric generators purchased by Ecuador from U.S.-based Progen during the 2024 power crisis sit idle in Quevedo.
Serrano, a Social Christian, claims the government is attempting to shift blame for the “Progen debacle” to U.S. courts to hide its own mishandling of the contract, including the possibility of criminal activity. “The government controls the Citizen Participation Commission and has made sure there is no internal investigation of what went wrong in this deal,” Serrano says.
“When the commission releases its report, you can be certain there will be no mention of an internal audit or why the procurement process was violated,” he said. “There will be no question of why the ministry paid $108 million to Progen in violation of contract terms requiring the generators to be tested and proven operable before payment was made.”
The Progen contract was signed during the 2024 power crisis when the country experienced electric blackouts of as much as 14 hours a day. “The deal was rushed to conclusion without the proper procedures and safeguards being followed by the president, the Energy Ministry and CELEC (Ecuador Electric Corporation),” says Serrano. “There also appears to be the criminal responsibility on the part of ministry officials,” he added, referring to trips made by former Energy Minister Roberto Luque and his staff to Florida to meet with Progen owners.”
Serrano added: “The president says he wants to root out corruption in the government and I suggest the Progen contract is a good place to start.”
Assemblyman Lenin Barreto of Citizens’ Revolution insists “that crimes were committed in Ecuador” with the Progen contract and should be investigated and prosecuted in the country. “We have the report from the Comptroller that suggests criminal involvement but the Assembly commission controlled by the president and his party decided to ignore it and move the case to a court in Florida. This is a coverup, pure and simple,” he said. “Noboa and his comrades won’t accept their share of the blame for the fact that dozens of useless generators sit idle today in Quevedo and Salitral.
Barreto claims the contract with Progen and another one with the Uruguayan company Austral to provide thermal electric generators were a “disaster” because of Noboa’s focus on the February 2025 election. “He wanted to announce that the blackouts were ending and that his government had the crisis under control,” Barreto said. “His main interest was public relations and his campaign stunt cost the Ecuadorian people $170 million and has not produced a single megawatt of electricity.”
Barreto added: “The sad truth is that the country’s energy crisis has not been addressed and, once again, we face the prospect of blackouts.”
In his announcement that Ecuador would sue Progen in a Florida court, Noboa claimed Ecuador has been defrauded. “Today, I have ordered that the government of Ecuador to sue Progen in the United States,” he said. “I know this issue has caused concern to many Ecuadorians. That is why I have made the decision to seek comprehensive reparation for the country.”
Noboa said the suit will be filed under the rules of Florida’s RICO law (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations) that allows successful defendants to collect triple damages.
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