Police in Ecuador have confirmed that the youngest mayor of the country and one of his aides were fatally shot on Sunday.
Authorities reported that Brigitte Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and her communications director Jairo Loor were discovered deceased in Manabi province.
According to police reports, both individuals had sustained gunshot wounds, suggesting that the gunfire originated from within the rented car.
The tragic incident marks the latest assassination of a political figure in Ecuador, with Ms. Garcia, a member of former president Rafael Correa’s left-wing Citizen Revolution Movement party, being the victim.
This unfortunate event follows the killing of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last August, who was known for his outspoken criticism of corruption and organised crime.
In another distressing occurrence, Mayor Agustin Intriago of Manta was murdered while conducting an inspection at a construction site in July 2023. Mr. Correa and Luisa Gonzalez, the party’s presidential candidate in the recent elections, condemned Ms. Garcia’s killing as an assassination on social media platforms.
On social media, Mr. Gonzalez expressed shock and grief, stating, “I’ve just found out they’ve assassinated our fellow mayor of San Vicente, Brigitte Garcia.”
“I have no words, in shock, nobody is safe in Ecuador NOBODY.”
Commencing with a statement, the Ecuadorian president Daniel Noboa’s administration condemned the killings and underscored its commitment to collaborating with the police and the prosecutor’s office to ensure “immediacy in the investigation”.
President Noboa had previously declared a state of emergency in January following an incident where armed men invaded a TV station during a live broadcast.
Furthermore, he designated 22 criminal groups as terrorist organisations. The state of emergency, initially declared in January, was extended earlier in March.
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