An Ecuadorian councilwoman, Diana Carnero, has been killed after she was executed in broad daylight in front of a crowd of people just moments after she finished a meeting.
Diana Carnero, 29, was chairing the council meeting in the town of Naranjal in Guayas on Wednesday afternoon and recording a video about the poor road conditions when she was attacked.
Police said two male suspects approached her on a motorcycle and shot her in the head before fleeing, according to The Mirror.
Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said it would be leading the investigation but so far there have been no arrests.
Ecuador is in the grips of a crime wave tied to drug trafficking gangs.
Ecuadoreans worry the violence will only escalate in a country where a presidential candidate was assassinated last year.
Two weeks ago, President Daniel Noboa declared an emergency and a virtual war on the gangs by authorising the military to act against them. Many people are staying at home and schools and stores have been shuttered as soldiers patrol the streets of Ecuador’s biggest cities.
Carnero ran under the Citizen Revolution Movement, the democratic socialist political party that was formed by backers of former President Rafael Correa and was elected to the Naranjal city council in February 2023.
Correa, who served as president from 2007 to 2017, paid tribute to Carnero on X (formerly Twitter).
He wrote: “Diana was 29 years old. This is a nightmare. A hug to her family and all of Naranjal. When you have children of that age, you understand what their parents must be suffering. They cut short the life of a promise for Naranjal and the Homeland. What a disgrace!”
Guayaquil deputy mayor Blanca López also wrote on X, saying: “This must end, wanting better days for our cantons, provinces and country cannot mean putting our lives at risk.” Carnero’s assassination came just one day after Guayas Governor Alberto Molina met with law enforcement in Naranjal to address the recent wave of violence.
