Ecuador prosecutor shot dead as violent crime wave continues

QUITO (Reuters): A criminal prosecutor in Ecuador was killed on Friday by gunmen along with his police escort in the latest eruption of violent crime to rock the South American nation.

The attorney general’s office announced the deaths of Marcelo Vasconez and his guard in a social media post, noting that both prosecutors and police were searching the area outside his office in the coastal city of Manta, located about 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of the city’s largest city. the country of Guayaquil.

According to a separate post confirming the death, the national police were dispatched to bring those responsible to justice.

According to local media reports, Vasconez served in the attorney general’s international organized crime unit. His alleged murder resulted in the death of at least a ninth local prosecutor since 2019.

These targeted killings coincide with the rise of powerful organized crime groups in the country, which President Daniel Noboa has been trying to tackle since last year through increased law enforcement, proposed anti-crime measures, and emergency edicts.

(Reporting by Alexandra Valencia; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Diane Craft)