Another mayor is murdered in Ecuador under the 'internal armed conflict' declared by Daniel Noboa

“Between sobs and helplessness, municipal officials have just confirmed the cold-blooded murder of fellow canton mayor Camilo Ponce Enríquez,” Lloret Valdivieso announced.

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“We express our deep regret to his family, friends and his worthy and noble people who elected him, while we demand that the authorities find those responsible for this new crime that mourns Azuay and Ecuador,” he added.

The Mayor's Office of Camilo Ponce Enríquez also issued a statement in which it indicated that “In an act of violence, one of those that the country is going through these days, the mayor was shot and as a result lost his life.”

According to local media, in the attack suffered by Sánchez, carried out by alleged hitmen, two more people also died, although the authorities have not yet officially confirmed this point.

Sánchez, popularly known as 'Jushico', had reported to the press and the Prosecutor's Office an alleged attack on his home occurred on the night of October 2, 2023.

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The municipality of Camilo Ponce Enríquez, located near the coast of Ecuador, was facing problems of illegal mining in its jurisdiction around the Guanache River that the mayor, also dedicated to mining, had promised to formalize.

Sánchez's murder occurred just three weeks after Brigitte García, Ecuador's youngest mayor, was found shot dead. who at the age of 27 was in charge of the canton of San Vicente, in the coastal province of Manabí.

Since the beginning of the year, Ecuador has found itself in an “internal armed conflict” declared by President Noboa against twenty-two organized crime gangs that the Government has come to consider as terrorist groups and non-state belligerent actors.

These organized crime groups are mainly dedicated to drug trafficking, but they have also expanded their illicit activities into other fields such as illegal mining or extortion.

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With this, the Ecuadorian president sought to address an unprecedented wave of violence that has elevated Ecuador to the group of the most dangerous countries in Latin America.with a homicide rate of 45 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.

This new attack against an authority also occurred just three days after the referendum called by Noboa to carry out reforms in matters of justice, employment and, above all, security, with various illegal tools to strengthen the fight against organized crime.

EFE