ON Monday, Pedro Briones, leader of the leftist political party Revolucion Ciudadana was brutally shot at his home in San Mateo, Ecuador – bringing the number of political assassinations in the past month to 3.
Neither the police nor the government immediately confirmed the attack but Ecuadorian presidential candidate Luisa Gonzales on Monday announced his death on social media on platform X, formerly known as Twitter.
Gonzales, a frontrunner in Ecuador’s presidential election said the country is experiencing its bloodiest era and that the state had been taken over by mafias.
This marks the third political-related slayings within the past 4 weeks after the death of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on the 9th of August and Mayor Agustin Intriago of Manta on the 26th of July.
Reports say that Briones was attacked by 2 men on a motorcycle who later fled the scene.
To note, the first round of the presidential elections is just days away.
Currently, investigations into all of the said 3 attacks are ongoing.
Meanwhile, Guayaquil experienced another day of threats and attacks, when a group of inmates from the regional prison climbed to the roofs of the center with painted fabrics asking for the return of Jose Adolfo Macias alias ‘Fito’, leader of the criminal gang ‘Los Choneros’, after he was moved to a maximum-security prison over the weekend.
Ecuador is scheduled to hold early presidential and national assembly elections on the 20th of August, which will determine the country’s president, vice president, and 137 members of the parliament.
As the elections draw near, Ecuador has experienced a surge in violent incidents.
The government of Ecuador has stated that these acts of violence are closely linked to organized crime and drug trafficking activities in the country.
