Ecuador's youngest mayor assassinated

National police said they were investigating the deaths of Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and her communications director, Jairo Loor, after their bodies were found in Manabi province. Police said in a statement that both died from gunshot wounds.

Ecuador's youngest market was assassinated, picture 1 — Ecuador is facing a problem of drug gang violence. Photo: GI

Later on Sunday, police said the shots came from inside the rental car and they were tracking the vehicle's GPS system. Ms. Garcia belonged to former President Rafael Correa's Civic Revolutionary Movement party.

Rafael Correa and Luisa Gonzalez, the party's presidential candidate in the recent election, called Garcia's killing an assassination. Gonzalez wrote in a post on X: "I just found out that they assassinated our colleague, San Vicente Mayor Brigitte Garcia."

Garcia is the latest political figure in the country to be killed following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in August last year. Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was killed as he left a campaign event two weeks before the election.

New President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in January amid rising violence, in which armed men seized a television station during a live broadcast. Mr. Noboa also designated 22 criminal groups as terrorist organizations.

Ecuador’s state of emergency was extended earlier this month. In a statement, Mr. Noboa’s administration condemned the killing and said it was working with police and the prosecutor’s office to investigate the incident.

Hoang Anh (according to Reuters)

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