A prison director in the Ecuadorian Amazon was killed in an armed attack on Tuesday, while two officers were injured, as reported by the country’s prison management service.
According to the National Police Service of Ecuador (SNAI) prisons agency, three administrative officials from the Centre for Deprivation of Liberty were attacked while traveling on the road to Coca city. Among them, Alex Guevara, the prison director in Sucumbios province, tragically lost his life in the attack.
Two additional workers who were travelling with the director at the time of the attack sustained injuries.
The local media also released a picture of the vehicle that the officials were using, which showed numerous bullet holes in the windshield, indicating the severity of the attack.
SNAI has launched an investigation into the incident.
Tragically, this event comes just a week after two prison officers were killed on their way to work in Guayaquil, a city in the southwest of Ecuador known for high levels of violence.
The Ecuadorian government, led by President Daniel Noboa, claims that their measures to combat organised crime have been effective in reducing homicides.
The Ministry of the Interior reports that from January to September this year, a total of 4,236 murders were registered, marking a significant decrease from the 5,112 homicides recorded during the same period in 2023.