Kidnapped Ecuadorian councilor found dead on road
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Quito: Ecuadorian councilor Bolivar Vera was found dead on a road in the coastal province of Guayas hours after being kidnapped, amid a national state of emergency.
The councilor was kidnapped on Thursday afternoon in Duran town’s El Arbolito area while traveling in a vehicle with his nephew. A car with several armed men intercepted his vehicle and took him by force.
According to reports, sister of the deceased confirmed his death in a Facebook message on Friday, which Interior Minister Juan Zapata later corroborated.
The councilor’s body was found in an empty lot in San Guillermo on the road to Salitre in Guayas, police said.
This incident adds to surging attacks against Ecuadorian politicians by crime organisations this year.
President Guillermo Lasso declared a national state of emergency on August 10 for 60 days, following the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio just ahead of the August 20 general election.
Ecuador, a country of approximately 17.5 million people, has recorded nearly 3,568 violent deaths from the start of the year to early July, an increase of 75 percent over the same period the year prior.
The country already shattered records for homicides in 2022, cataloging a total of 4,603 violent deaths. According to statistics released by the national police, that amounted to nearly 12.6 murders per day.
With inputs from IANS