This Thursday a new prosecutor was killed Ecuador The result of an armed attack, and the former mayor was kidnapped a few hours earlier, according to the state Attorney General’s Office and the National Police, respectively.

The prosecutor’s office identified the murdered man as Genaro R., the prosecutor of the city of Babajoyo, the capital of the province of Los Rios, who was the victim of a fatal attack in the canton (municipality) of Jujan, which belongs to the neighboring province of Guayas, located on the coast of Ecuador.

This was organized to hold removal of the corpse and the collection of ballistics and other evidence at the scene, as reported by prosecutors through their official channels.

He this prosecutor’s murder joins other similar murders that have occurred in previous monthslike prosecutors Leonardo Palacios and Edgar Escobar, were shot dead in Durán and Guayaquil, respectively, and Attorney General Diana Salazar said in June that she had received death threats.

#Ecuador // Killers kill the prosecutor #DuranLeonardo Palacios.

The attackers opened fire from a motorcycle when the official returned home on the night of Thursday, June 1. pic.twitter.com/2y2MiQ6eCf

— El Clarin (@SVElClarin) June 2, 2023

A few hours before this murder it was known kidnapping of Mariana Mendieta, former mayor of Durána municipality that is part of the Guayaquil metropolitan area and has become one of the most violent places in the country due to organized crime gangs.

Mendieta’s kidnapping was publicly warned by the current mayor, Luis Chonillo, who survived an attack last May. two of his companions died and one more person, because of which he had to go into hiding and be sent electronically.

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“My solidarity with all the family and friends of the former mayor of Durán, Mariana Mendieta, who was the victim of a reprehensible kidnapping. We ask the national government spare no effort and act as quickly as possible regain your freedom,” Chonillo asked in a message published on social networks.

Later, the General Commander of the National Police, Fausto Salinas, told reporters that they would activate the protocols and conducted a series of raids while the military surrounded Durán’s municipal headquarters to guard it, according to local media reports.

Violence also has claimed the lives of two officials in recent months from Durán: Terrenos director Miguel Santos, killed in August; and Councilor Bolivar Vera, killed in September.

Ecuador has become one of the most violent countries in Latin America increasing from 5.8 to 25.32 intentional homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022 over the past five years, the highest rate since records began, and which experts surveyed say could reach around 40 in 2023 year.

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This spiral of violence is largely attributed to organized crime, which has made Ecuador one of the nerve centers of the global cocaine trade, shipping large quantities of the drug to Europe by sea through ports such as Guayaquil, and to North America on high-capacity ships.

The murder spree reached unexpected heights with the murders of Manta Mayor Agustin Intriago and presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. happened a few days before the first round of early elections. (EFE)