Carrie Kahn
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Achilles Alvarez was arrested along with two of his brothers and bundles of cash, computers, and other evidence were confiscated, according to prosecutors.
Alvarez is also under investigation in a separate case for alleged illegal sales of subsidized gasoline.
He was not wearing his court-ordered ankle monitoring device at the time of his arrest.
Alvarez, who was elected mayor of Guayaquil two years ago, denies all charges.
He's a member of the left-wing opposition party and a vocal critic of the current president's tough crime policies.
Guayaquil, Ecuador's major commercial port, is also key in cocaine shipments from South America to the U.S.
Its murder rate has skyrocketed as rival local gangs and international crime cartels battle for control.
Relatives and friends of political prisoners continue waiting in front of the infamous prison known as El Acorde, waiting the promised releases.
The mountainous, multi-level building was designed to be a shopping center, but is known as the most feared detention facility in the country.
In announcing the release on Thursday, Venezuela's congressional leader, Jorge Rodriguez, the brother of the interim president, said the move should be considered a gesture seeking peace.
Those released so far include members of the political party led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado and five Spanish citizens.
Human rights groups decry the paltry number of releases and say more than 800 political opponents remain imprisoned.
Carrie Khan, NPR News, Bogota, Colombia.
59-year-old José Antonio Kast's ultra-conservative stances, especially on women's issues and his support of the Pinochet dictatorship,
were too hardline in his two previous presidential bids.
This time, he focused more on concerns over crime and rising migration, especially from Venezuela.
In a meandering hour-long acceptance speech, he told a huge crowd in Santiago that change was coming, but said it would take time.