A councillor from Ecuador was brutally murdered in broad daylight in front of a crowd of people just moments after leaving a council meeting.
Diana Carnero, 29, was recording a video about the poor conditions of roads in the town of Naranjal in Guaywas when she was savagely attacked.
She was approached by two men on a motorcycle who shot her in the head before quickly fleeing the scene, police said.
Ecuador's Attorney General's Office said it would be leading the investigation but no arrests have been made so far.
Diana Carnero was brutally executed in broad daylight in front of a crowd of people
A local posted about her death: “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!”
Carnero was part of the Citizen Revolution Movement, the democratic socialist political party that was formed by supporters of former President Rafael Correa.
She was elected to the Naranjal city council in February 2023.
Correa mourned Carnero’s death on social media: “Diana was 29 years old. This is a nightmare.”
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She was approached by two men on a motorcycle who pulled a gun out and shot her in the head before they fled the scene
“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!”
Blanca Lopez, Guayaquil's deputy mayor, posted: “This must end, wanting better days for our cantons, provinces and country cannot mean putting our lives at risk." These words come after the recent spike in violence in the area, highlighted by the murder of Carnero.”
Ecuador is in the middle of a crime wave tied to drug trafficking gangs. Its murder rate has increased nine-fold since 2017.
President Daniel Noboa, who came into power in November, declared a 60-day state of emergency in the country two weeks ago and gave the military permission to act against them.
Carnero was recording a video about the poor conditions of roads in the town when she was savagely attacked
Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa has said the country is at warReutersNoboa, who promised to confront gangs head-on, said that Ecuador was living through an “internal armed conflict”.
Just one day before Carnero’s assassination, Guayas Governor Alberto Molina met with law enforcement in Naranjal to address the recent wave of gang-related violence.
Situated between Peru and Colombia, the world’s largest cocaine producers, Ecuador has recently become a vital transit point for the Class-A drug.
It was named as the most dangerous country in Latin America, according to a 2022 Gallup poll.