Ecuador prosecutor killed in latest attack on justice officials
by Macarena Hermosilla · UPIJune 15 (UPI) -- Ecuador's Attorney General's Office said a new attack targeting justice officials left a prosecutor dead in the port city of Manta.
Veteran criminal prosecutor Alexandra Bravo and her sister, Olinda Bravo, were shot and killed in broad daylight Sunday, raising renewed concerns about the security risks faced by judges and prosecutors in a country operating under a state-declared "internal armed conflict" against powerful drug trafficking organizations.
Authorities said the attack occurred as the sisters were leaving a restaurant and walking toward their parked vehicle. A gunman approached them and fired multiple shots at close range. Both women died at the scene, while the attacker escaped.
Bravo had worked for more than 15 years with the Manabí provincial prosecutor's office. At the time of her death, she was assigned to the Flagrant Crimes Unit, which handles high-risk cases involving organized crime, contract killings and kidnappings.
According to local media reports, Bravo was leading an investigation into a major fire that erupted June 6 at Manta's artisanal fishing port. The blaze destroyed 35 vessels, including 14 commercial fishing boats and 21 small fishing boats, caused millions of dollars in losses and left two crew members in critical condition.
Government officials initially suggested the fire may have been caused by welding work or a generator malfunction. However, local fishing industry groups raised concerns that it may have been a deliberate attack.
Businesses and fishermen in Manta have long reported extortion schemes carried out by criminal organizations demanding protection payments.
Less than a month before Bravo's killing, Judge Lady Pachar was shot and killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen in the city of Machala, underscoring what authorities and analysts describe as a pattern of intimidation against members of the judicial system.
The Attorney General's Office said Sunday, according to local media outlets, that such attacks are acts of retaliation by organized criminal groups. Officials investigating drug trafficking, extortion, mass killings or corruption often become targets if they refuse to yield to threats from gangs such as Los Choneros and Los Lobos.
In September, the U.S. State Department designated both groups as terrorist organizations, arguing they operate beyond the scope of local gangs and maintain alliances with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel, also known as CJNG.
The Ecuadorian Organized Crime Observatory has described Manta as a strategic hub for international drug trafficking networks. Its major port and coastal location make it a key departure point for cocaine shipments originating primarily in neighboring Colombia and Peru and destined for Central America, the United States and Europe.
The city's fishing and real estate sectors have also been identified as potential channels for money laundering.
While Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa has heavily promoted his government's Phoenix Plan security strategy to dismantle criminal organizations, judicial associations contend that official rhetoric has not translated into effective and permanent police protection for prosecutors and judges.
Independent organizations, such as Ecuador's Observatory of Rights and Justice, have classified judicial work in the country as a high-risk profession.
As of May 2026, the organization had documented at least 45 serious attacks against judicial system employees over the previous six years, resulting in 27 violent deaths, including judges and court officials.
Ecuador has become one of the most violent countries in the world and currently records the highest levels of violence in South America.
The country ended 2025 with 9,216 homicides, the highest annual total in its modern history, as drug trafficking organizations expanded their influence across key regions.