Tragic News: Ecuador’s Youngest Mayor Brigitte García Shot Dead
In a shocking turn of events, Ecuador’s youngest mayor, Brigitte García, has been tragically shot dead.
The 27-year-old mayor, along with her press officer, was discovered deceased in a car on Sunday in the town of San Vicente, where she had emerged victorious in the mayoral election just last year.
No suspects have been apprehended yet, leaving authorities puzzled about the possible motive behind this heinous crime.
García’s untimely demise adds to the growing list of politicians falling victim to violence in the Andean nation, following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last year.
The bodies of García and communications director Jairo Loor were found in the early hours of Sunday, local time.
Law enforcement officials revealed that the fatal shots were fired from inside the rented vehicle where the duo was located.
A trained nurse by profession, García had secured the mayoral position in San Vicente representing the opposition Citizens’ Revolution party at the young age of 26.
San Vicente, the municipality under her administration, is situated in the province of Manabí.
The coastal area has been grappling with escalating violence attributed to drug cartels engaged in smuggling cocaine to lucrative markets in the US and Europe.
García’s unfortunate demise is not an isolated incident in Manabí, where political figures have become targets of fatal attacks.
In a similar vein, Mayor Agustín Intriago of Manta was fatally shot by a gunman in July, shortly after being re-elected.
Tragedy struck again in February 2023, with mayoral candidate Omar Menéndez being murdered just hours before polling stations opened in Puerto López.
Such violence is not confined to Manabí alone, as evidenced by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito last August.
Authorities investigating Villavicencio’s murder disclosed that it had been orchestrated by incarcerated members of the Los Lobos criminal syndicate.
In response to the surge in gang-related activities, President Daniel Noboa declared a state of emergency lasting two months in January, which was extended by an additional month on March 7.
Security forces have conducted over 150,000 operations and detained more than 10,000 suspects since the state of emergency was announced, as per government reports.
However, critics argue that García’s tragic fate underscores the urgent need for enhanced safety measures to protect elected officials.
Luisa González, a presidential candidate defeated by Noboa, expressed on social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that “nobody is safe in Ecuador”. — BBC
