Jorge Maldonado: A mayor is murdered in Ecuador, the second in three days

A mayor was shot dead this Friday in Ecuadorthe second in three days, in another attack that occurs under the “internal armed conflict” that the president declared at the national level since the beginning of 2024 Daniel Noboa against the gangs organized crime.

The new victim is the mayor of the canton (municipality) of Portovelo, Jorge Maldonado belonging to the southern coastal province of El Oro, bordering Peru, whose death was officially confirmed by the Association of Municipalities of Ecuador (AME) in a statement.

According to local media, the attack occurred around 9:20 local time (2:20 GMT) this Friday, when alleged hitmen shot at Maldonado who was transferred immediately to a medical center, where his death was confirmed.

The murder of Maldonado It occurred less than 48 hours after the attack on Jose Sanchez mayor of the canton Camilo Ponce Enriquez located in the southern Andean province of Azuay.

Both municipalities -Portovelo and Camilo Ponce- They have in common that in their territories there is presence of illegal mining activities, in addition to being in transit areas towards the Ecuadorian coast, which constitute the main axis of drug trafficking carried out by criminal gangs that operate in Ecuador.

Less than a month ago, she was also found murdered inside a vehicle along with her coordinator of Communication the youngest mayor of Ecuador, Brigitte Garcia who at the age of 26 was in charge of the canton Saint Vincentin the coastal province of Manabí.

Likewise, also under the declaration of the internal armed conflict, the murder of Diana Carnerocouncilor of the Naranjal canton, belonging to the coastal province of Guayasa few kilometers from Camilo Ponce Enriquez.

The murders of Sánchez and Maldonado have also occurred in a crucial week for the Noboa Governmentwhich for this Sunday called a referendum to carry out a series of reforms in matters of security, justice and employment.

Security issues make up the majority of the eleven questions that make up this plebiscite, with the aim of giving the authorities more tools to combat the organized crime.

Among these issues, the proposal that the Armed forces permanently support the Police in operations against organized crime, without the need to constantly issue states of exception so that they can fulfill that purpose.

Likewise, it proposes increasing the penalties for crimes related to organized crime among them the illegal minery and that those convicted of some of these crimes do not have the possibility of receiving prison benefits, so that they fully serve their sentence in prison.

With these measures the Noboa Government wants to put a stop to the growing wave of criminal violence that has plagued the country in recent years and that has led Ecuador to be among the first of Latin America in homicides with a rate of 45 for each 100,000 inhabitants in 2023.