The crime was perpetrated on Tuesday night, shortly after the official, ex husband of Yaguachi Mayor Viviana Olivares, posted on social media that he was celebrating a birthday.

In a statement, the Mayor’s Office of Yaguachi condemned this violent act and declared three days of mourning in the canton.

The councilman’s assassination caused indignation among other officials, such as the prefect of Guayas, Marcela Aguiñaga, who said, “We all lose when violence is imposed, we all lose when impunity reigns.”

The government of Yaguachi demanded at the beginning of this week that national authorities provide more police officers and soldiers to protect the canton, in view of the violent events reported in that community.

Ecuador is experiencing the most violent period in its history for politicians, with 88 cases of attacks in 2022 and 2023, including the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, according to a recent report from the Citizen Observatory of Political Violence.

This escalation of attacks on candidates and officials from several parties and movements is part of the insecurity that is affecting Ecuador, with more than 6,000 violent deaths in 2023.

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