More political assassinations in Ecuador

[Kamaji]

Political leader in Ecuador is killed less than a week after presidential candidate’s assassination

By Associated Press
August 15, 2023

The unprecedented violence shaking Ecuador claimed the life of another political leader Monday, bringing the number of politics-related slayings within the last four weeks to three, including that of a presidential candidate.

The fatal shooting of Pedro Briones, a local leader of Revolución Ciudadana, the party of former President Rafael Correa, was confirmed by Luisa González, the frontrunner in Sunday’s special presidential election and member of the same party.

The shooting happened in the northern province of Esmeraldas. Details were not immediately available.

“Ecuador is experiencing its bloodiest era,” González tweeted. “A heartfelt hug to the family of colleague Pedro Briones, fallen by the hands of violence.”

The killing of Briones, who was a political leader in a rural area of San Mateo de Esmeraldas, came less than a week after the South American country was rocked by the assassination in broad daylight of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, who had a famously tough stance on organized crime and corruption. Villavicencio was killed at the end of a political rally in Quito, the capital, despite having a security detail that included police and bodyguards.

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Source:  https://nypost.com/2023/08/15/political-leader-in-ecuador-is-killed-less-than-a-week-after-presidential-candidates-assassination/

[PeteS in CA]

The city of Esmeraldas has a population of around 200K and is the major port for the ag, mining, and industrial products of northern Ecuador. The province and city, as the name suggests, are named for emeralds being mined in that area of the Andes, and if one travels on land much farther north, one is in Colombia.

The current President has been lackadaisical about dealing with drug cartel crime, and the ordinary people of Ecuador are paying the price.

[libertybele]

The city of Esmeraldas has a population of around 200K and is the major port for the ag, mining, and industrial products of northern Ecuador. The province and city, as the name suggests, are named for emeralds being mined in that area of the Andes, and if one travels on land much farther north, one is in Colombia.

The current President has been lackadaisical about dealing with drug cartel crime, and the ordinary people of Ecuador are paying the price.

  Another assassination.