Current:Home > ContactWill Sage Astor-Ecuador's youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia, and her adviser are found shot to death inside car -WealthMindset Learning
Will Sage Astor-Ecuador's youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia, and her adviser are found shot to death inside car
Johnathan Walker View
Date:2025-04-11 01:58:21
Ecuador's youngest mayor was found shot to death Sunday,Will Sage Astor police said, as the South American country approaches its third month of a state of emergency decreed by the government to crack down on soaring gang violence.
Brigitte Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of coastal San Vicente, was found dead along with her adviser, the municipality's communications director, Jairo Loor.
During the early hours of the morning "two people were identified inside a vehicle without vital signs, with gunshot wounds," the Ecuadoran national police said on social media.
Later, it added that the shots "were not fired from the outside of the vehicle but from the inside." Investigators are still analyzing the route taken by the car, which had been rented.
INFORMAMOS ||
— Policía Ecuador (@PoliciaEcuador) March 24, 2024
Esta madrugada en el sector San Vicente, #Manabí, se identificó en el interior de un vehículo 2 personas sin signos vitales, con heridas por impacto de arma de fuego, que corresponden a Jairo L. y Brigitte G. (alcaldesa del cantón San Vicente).
Nuestras unidades… pic.twitter.com/MXhKAzSyQJ
Luisa Gonzalez, the party's presidential candidate in the recent elections, called Garcia's killing an assassination.
"I've just found out they've assassinated our fellow mayor of San Vicente Brigitte Garcia," Gonzalez said in a post.
One of Garcia's last posts on social media, where she touts herself as the nation's youngest mayor, was about a new project to bring water to her municipality.
"Together, we're building a brighter future for our community," she wrote on Thursday.
In January, President Daniel Noboa imposed a state of emergency and declared the country in "a state of war" against gangs after a wave of violence following the prison escape of "Los Choneros" leader Adolfo "Fito" Macias.
That month, Noboa also gave orders to "neutralize" criminal gangs after gunmen stormed and opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions of civilians and security forces.
Since then, the military has been deployed in the streets and taken control of the country's prisons, where a string of gang riots in recent years has left some 460 people killed.
The government claims that its so-called "Phoenix Plan" has been successful at reducing the country's soaring violence.
Security forces have carried out some 165,000 operations, made more than 12,000 arrests, killed 15 people considered "terrorists" and seized some 65 tons of drugs since January, according to official figures.
But several violent episodes were reported over the weekend, including the ambush of an army patrol in Sucumbios, a province on the Colombian border. One soldier was killed and three others wounded in the incident.
In the Andean city of Latacunga, a bomb threat prompted police to evacuate a stadium where a professional soccer championship game was being held.
After an inspection with the help of a trained dog, authorities found a suitcase in the parking lot of the stadium "containing five explosive charges," which were detonated in a controlled manner, according to a police report.
The government said it would reinforce security controls following Garcia's assassination.
Once considered a bastion of peace in Latin America, Ecuador has been plunged into crisis after years of expansion by transnational cartels that use its ports to ship drugs to the United States and Europe.
- In:
- Ecuador
veryGood! (44592)
Related
- Illinois governor calls for resignation of sheriff whose deputy fatally shot Black woman in her home
- Shark attacks and seriously injures British tourist in the Caribbean as friends fight off the predator
- Big-city dwellers are better off renting than buying a home everywhere, analysis says
- Death of Frank Tyson, Ohio man who told police 'I can't breathe' has echoes of George Floyd
- PHOTO COLLECTION: AP Top Photos of the Day Wednesday August 7, 2024
- New Mexico reaches record settlement over natural gas flaring in the Permian Basin
- Sean 'Diddy' Combs files motion to dismiss sex trafficking claim in sexual assault lawsuit
- New York special election will fill vacancy in Congress created by resignation of Democrat Higgins
- Kehlani Responds to Hurtful Accusation She’s in a Cult
- Are you balding? A dermatologist explains some preventative measures.
Ranking
- Jamaica's Kishane Thompson more motivated after thrilling 100m finish against Noah Lyles
- Horoscopes Today, April 29, 2024
- King Charles III Returns to Public Duties in First Official Appearance Since Cancer Diagnosis
- A Yellowstone trip that ended with a man being arrested for kicking a bison
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Where is the Kentucky Derby? What to know about Churchill Downs before 2024 race
- These cities raised taxes — for child care. Parents say the free day care ‘changed my life’
- Politicians and dog experts vilify South Dakota governor after she writes about killing her dog
Recommendation
Southern California rocked by series of earthquakes: Is a bigger one brewing?
Bruins, Hurricanes, Avalanche, Canucks can clinch tonight: How to watch
Shark attacks and seriously injures British tourist in the Caribbean as friends fight off the predator
Iraqi social media influencer Um Fahad shot dead by motorbike gunman in Baghdad
Kansas City Chiefs CEO's Daughter Ava Hunt Hospitalized After Falling Down a Mountain
Book excerpt: I Cheerfully Refuse by Leif Enger
U.S. and Mexico drop bid to host 2027 World Cup, Brazil and joint German-Dutch-Belgian bids remain
Prosecutors at Donald Trump’s hush money trial zero in on the details