The Youngest Mayor in Ecuador Found Dead of Gunshot Wounds Along with His Staff

Illustration. (Wikimedia Commons/Tony Webster)

JAKARTA - Ecuador's youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia, and a member of her staff were found shot dead in a car on Sunday morning, local police said, as the South American country is hit by a wave of violence that authorities say is caused by drug trafficking.

National police said they were investigating the death of Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, along with his communications director Jairo Loor, after the discovery of their bodies in Manabi province.

Both suffered gunshot wounds, police said in a statement, as reported by Reuters, March 25.

On Sunday evening, police said shots came from inside a rental car, and they tracked the vehicle's GPS system.

Garcia is a member of the Citizens' Revolutionary Movement party led by former President Rafael Correa.

Correa and Luisa Gonzalez, the party's presidential candidate in recent elections, called Garcia's death an assassination on social media platform X.

"I just learned that they have killed our colleague San Vicente Mayor Brigitte Garcia," Gonzalez said in a post.

"I am speechless, in shock, no one is safe in Ecuador, no one," he said.

Garcia is the latest political figure in the country to be assassinated following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last August.

Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was murdered while leaving a campaign event two weeks before the election.

It is known that President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency in January amid increasing violence, including the storming of a television station during a live broadcast by a group of armed men.

Earlier this month, the state of emergency was extended. President Noboa also designated 22 criminal groups as terrorist organizations.

In a statement, the Noboa government condemned the killing and said it was working with police and the prosecutor's office to ensure a speedy investigation.

The government said it would also strengthen public order policies to achieve safety and peace for all Ecuadorians.