JOSE Sanchez, the 52-year-old mayor of Camilo Ponce Enriquez in Ecuador, was brutally murdered earlier this week.
Authorities said around eight to ten armed individuals arrived in a vehicle and opened fire, killing both Sánchez and another person with him.
Ecuadorian authorities have initiated an investigation into the incident.
Sanchez, a miner and lawyer, had survived two attacks last year, after which he had requested police protection.
This chilling event adds to a worrying pattern of violence against public officials in Ecuador.
Earlier in March, Mayor Briggite Garcia suffered a similar fate.
These murders occurred during a state of emergency declared by President Daniel Noboa Earlier January, raising serious concerns about the safety of elected officials.
To recall, Noboa declared an ‘internal armed conflict’ against 22 criminal gangs and instituted a state of emergency, deploying the military across Ecuador.
Meanwhile, in response to the escalating violence, 45 Ecuadorian mayors have requested police protection, but so far, only 17 received it.
