MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Another mayor shot dead in Ecuador

Sánchez had survived two attacks against him last year

José Sánchez, mayor of the Ecuadorean town of Camilo Ponce Enríquez, in the canton of Azuay, was murdered Wednesday night along with two other people when his home was stormed by hitmen.

“Between sobs and impotence, municipal officials just corroborated to me the cold-blooded murder of the fellow mayor of the canton Camilo Ponce Enriquez,” Azuay Prefect Jota Lloret Valdivieso wrote on social media while demanding authorities to find those responsible for the crime. Lloret also spoke of a “cold-blooded” murder.

According to local media, two other people were killed in the attack but there was no confirmation from local authorities. The canton Camilo Ponce Enríquez, borders with Guayas and El Oro, and has mining as its main economic activity.

“He was always present in the important moments of our canton, providing support and working tirelessly for the welfare of all. In these difficult moments, we join as a Municipality to offer our support and comfort to the family,” the Office of the Ponce Enríquez Mayor said in a statement about the 52-year-old miner and lawyer who had survived two attacks last year, after which he had requested police protection.

Sánchez's assassination took place three weeks after that of Brigitte García, the youngest mayor of Ecuador, who at the age of 27 headed the canton of San Vicente, in the province of Manabí, and three days before the referendum called by President Daniel Noboa to decide on matters such as justice, employment and security.

Earlier this year, Noboa declared the country to be going through an “internal armed conflict” against 22 organized crime gangs that were labeled as terrorist groups and belligerent non-state actors.

Between 2023 and 2024, several mayors and political candidates have been assassinated, including presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio; Manta Mayor Agustín Intriago; and mayoral candidates Omar Menéndez (Puerto López) and Julio César Farachio (Salinas), in addition to Brigitte García. Durán Mayor Luis Chonillo also went through an attack against his house.