A prosecutor leading an investigation into an on-air assault on an Ecuadorian television station has been shot dead in a broad daylight attack in the crime-ridden city of Guayaquil.
Cesar Suárez, who was in charge of cases involving organized cross-border crime in Guayas, one of the country's most violent regions, was ambushed in the north of the city on Wednesday afternoon.
“Criminals and terrorists will not hinder our involvement in Ecuadorian society,” Diana Salazar, the country's attorney general, said in a video posted on social media. She said: “We call on the forces of order to guarantee the safety of those carrying out their duties.”
Salazar said Suarez's office was conducting a preliminary investigation at the murder scene and expressed condolences to Suarez's family, but did not provide details of the crime.
The Judicial Council condemned the attack in a statement, saying Suarez was on his way to a court hearing when he was killed.
The killing had the hallmarks of an assassination, police said in a statement, adding that the victim had multiple gunshot wounds, Reuters reported.
Ecuador is reeling from a dramatic spike in violence, including a dramatic attack on TC TV's studios in Guayaquil, the taking of more than 200 prison staff hostage, explosions in multiple cities and the kidnapping of police officers. .
In response, President Daniel Novoa declared a 60-day state of emergency, including a curfew, and designated 22 criminal organizations as terrorist organizations.
Suarez was reportedly questioning 13 gunmen captured after police special forces secured the television station and was investigating who ordered the high-profile attack. He also worked on many other high-profile cases involving drug trafficking and political corruption.
Earlier this week, he told Ecuadorian newspaper El Universo: he had no police bodyguard.
Ecuador, long considered one of the most peaceful countries in South America, has seen its murder rate soar in the past five years, with Mexican cartels and foreign mafia groups now operating in what is a major drug-trafficking route. The number of people killed last year was 7,878 due to the setting up of camps. .
