QUITO – An Ecuadoran judge was killed Thursday (Friday Manila time) while walking his children to school, and a footballer was shot and wounded in the latest incidents attributed to criminal gang activity in the South American country.
Police said a gunman on a motorbike opened fire on judge Marcos Mendoza in the coastal town of Montecristi in Ecuador’s Manabi province, plagued by drug cartels.
Provincial police chief Colonel Giovanni Naranjo told reporters the Los Lobos gang — designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States — was suspected of the attack.
At least 15 judges or prosecutors have been killed in Ecuador since 2022, according to Human Rights Watch.
The Ecuadoran Judges’ Association said Mendoza’s “shocking” murder shined a light on the “vulnerability” of the country’s judges. AFP
They “face pressure, threats, and risks every day for carrying out their duties with independence and courage,” it added.
Also Thursday, Ecuadoran footballer Bryan “Cuco” Angulo, who has played for several Latin American clubs and for his country, was shot in the foot when attending a training session.
Police said two assailants were arrested, while Angulo’s club, Liga de Portoviejo, said several of its players “have received threats” ahead of a match against rivals Buhos ULRV on Friday.
Playing football in Ecuador can be deadly, with match-fixing mafias part of a global criminal empire that earns gangs some $1.7 trillion per year, according to a recent UN estimate.
