Ecuador Prosecutor Killed in Drug Trafficking Hub

A prosecutor was assassinated in Manta, Ecuador, a city grappling with intense drug cartel activity, the Attorney General's Office announced. Gloria Bravo, a prosecutor for 15 years who had been investigating organized crime, was targeted in what authorities are calling a "criminal attack." Local media reported that Bravo's sister, who was with her at the time, also died in the incident. The Attorney General's Office "energetically rejects and condemns the criminal attack" on Bravo, who was working in a prosecutor's office near the scene. Bravo had recently been assigned to investigate a fire that destroyed approximately 35 fishing boats in Manta's port, though the circumstances of that blaze remain unclear. This latest killing brings the number of murdered public officials in Manta to three, underscoring the severe challenges Ecuador faces in combating drug-related violence. Manta is a key transit point for cocaine moving from neighboring Colombia and Peru. Despite government efforts and U.S. support, violence persists, contributing to Ecuador's status as one of Latin America's most dangerous countries, with a homicide rate of 50.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025.

“

El fiscal general del Estado rechaza y condena enérgicamente el ataque criminal perpetrado hoy contra la funcionaria de fiscalía (...) que lamentablemente perdió la vida