Third politician assassinated in Ecuador in less than one month

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Ecuador's president declared a state of emergency after a presidential candidate was assassinated. Associated Press/Photo by Martin Mejia

Third politician assassinated in Ecuador in less than one month

The late Pedro Briones was a local leader of the Revolución Ciudadana, or Citizen Revolution, party. Officials said he was shot and killed Monday in the northern province of Esmeraladas. His death occurred less than one week after gunmen killed Ecuadoran presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in broad daylight after he left a campaign event. The mayor of Manta, Ecuador’s third-largest city, was assassinated on July 26. Ecuadorans are expected to head to the polls on Aug. 20 for the presidential election.

How have politicians responded? Presidential frontrunner Luisa González is a member of the Citizen Revolution party and said Tuesday that she would continue with her campaign despite the violence. “I have faith in God; He is the one who takes care of us,” she said in an interview. She vowed to take a tough stance on crime and invest $500 million to re-equip the national police if elected.

Dig deeper: From the WORLD archives, read Onize Ohikere’s report on a prison riot in Ecuador that claimed the lives of 116 prisoners.

Lauren Canterberry

Lauren Canterberry is a reporter for WORLD. She graduated from the World Journalism Institute and the University of Georgia with a degree in journalism, both in 2017. She worked as a local reporter in Texas and now lives in Georgia with her husband.