OPPOSITION groups in Ecuador launched a general strike yesterday in the latest attempt at regime change.

The Workers Unitary Front (FUT) trade union began setting up roadblocks across the country at midnight as part of a campaign aimed at bringing down the left-wing Pais Alliance of President Rafael Correa.

FUT president Pablo Serrano threatened to block every major road and bring the country to a standstill.

But authorities said that obstructing citizens’ free movement was a crime in Ecuador and warned that those manning the barricades would be arrested and fined.

Just after midnight, police in the captal Quito deployed 5,000 officers to ensure the safety of residents, businesses and homes during the protests.

The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) posted on social media that Ecuador’s Amazon region woke up “completely involved” in the protests.

But the TeleSur news network reported low turnout in the capital and confusion around opposition demands.

Mr Correa condemned the action and predicted it would fail.

“What gall!” he posted on his Twitter account. “Are we going to allow this, Ecuadoreans? Everyone reject these abuses! In Ecuador no-one is stopped!”

The Pais Alliance and the Co-ordinating Committee of Social Movements marched through Quito in opposition to the strike on Wednesday, ­finishing with a rally in the central Plaza Grande square in front of the Carondelet ­Palace, the seat of the government.

Recent months have seen increasingly violent opposition protests against the government, reminiscent of the attempted coup in 2010.