Ecuador’s youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia has been discovered dead alongside her communications director, Jairo Loor, inside a vehicle in the early hours of Sunday.
The police have confirmed that both Garcia, aged 27 and the mayor of San Vicente, Loor, had sustained gunshot wounds. This tragic incident took place in the province of Manabi, amidst a surge of violence associated with drug trafficking.
Garcia, who worked as a nurse, had achieved a historic milestone by becoming Ecuador’s youngest mayor.
She secured her position with 35 percent of the votes in the 2023 sectional elections as a member of the Citizen Revolution Movement party, led by former President Rafael Correa.
While authorities continue to investigate this untimely demise, it was disclosed on Sunday that the shots were fired from within the rented vehicle. The police are currently utilizing the car’s GPS to gather additional leads.
Luisa Gonzalez, the presidential candidate of the party in the recent elections, labelled Garcia’s death as an act of assassination on the social media platform X.
“I’ve just found out they’ve assassinated our fellow mayor of San Vicente Brigitte Garcia,” said Gonzalez, adding, “I have no words. In shock, nobody is safe in Ecuador, NOBODY.”
