Major Agustn Intriago of Manta, Ecuador's third-largest city, was slain on Sunday by hitmen who opened fire on him as he was visiting a construction site. In addition, one spectator was murdered, and four others were wounded.
At least three gunshots struck the mayor, 38, in the chest at a public ceremony promoting a local development project. He was taken to the hospital for emergency care, but doctors were unable to save his life. According to reports, Intriago had previously received death threats and had sought police protection.
Ana Intriago, the mayor's sister, initially confirmed his death on Twitter.
“My brother is dead, pray for his soul’s rest, this crime cannot go unpunished please, let’s not allow these evildoers to win,” she posted, a message followed an hour later by a second plea for justice.
“Darkness, evil has won this time, let’s not let them continue to win, no impunity, punish the wicked!”
Interior Minister Juan Zapata subsequently confirmed the killing, calling it a "reprehensible act," adding that the police "will not rest until they find those responsible."
Ariana Estefana Chancay, 29, a player for the local team Las Dragonas, was also killed in the incident. She had just contacted the mayor for help for her amateur soccer club, according to local media, when the shooting occurred.
Following the shooting, police quickly pursued the hitmen, who were driving a stolen van. The assassins' vehicle crashed during the chase, wounding the driver, who was apprehended.
The shooter is still on the loose.
Mr. Intriago was serving his second four-year term following his reelection in 2023. He was a member of Ecuador's largest opposition group, the Citizen Revolution Movement, which was led by former President Rafael Correa. His killing occurred less than a month before the presidential elections on August 20.
Mr. Intriago's killing is Ecuador's third successful assassination of a mayoral candidate this year.
In February, 41-year-old candidate Omar Menéndez was shot only hours before the polls opened in the little seaside town of Puerto López. A random passerby was also killed here. The shooters rode away on a motorbike. Mr. Menéndez was declared the winner of the election when the votes were counted.
Julio César Farachio, a mayoral candidate for the seaside city of Salinas, was shot dead in January by a convicted drug trafficker who had recently been released from jail.
Duran Mayor Luis Chonillo barely avoided murder on his first day in office in May.
Mayors are not the only people targeted for assassination in Ecuador. Otto Sonnenholzner, a congressional candidate, was assassinated last week in what seemed to be a robbery attempt. Jairo Olaya, a member of the Esmeraldas municipal council, was assassinated in June.
Ecuador has experienced a spike in violence in recent years as a result of warring drug gangs, making it one of the most violent countries in South America.
Mexican and Colombian cartels, according to security specialists, have infiltrated local Ecuadorean gangs. Coastal communities have long been a battlefield for drug gangs vying for access to ports from which cocaine is transported out of the nation via the Pacific Ocean.
