Public Prosecutor Assassinated in Ecuador's Drug Gang Stronghold Manta

A public prosecutor was killed on Sunday in an assassination targeting her in Manta, a coastal city in western Ecuador known as a stronghold for several drug trafficking gangs, the Attorney General's Office reported.

This incident raises to three the number of Attorney General employees assassinated in the same city, which is recognized as a major base for the Los Choneros gang.

The Attorney General's Office condemned the attack, describing it as a "criminal operation" that targeted Gloria Bravo, who worked in a department of the Attorney General's Office located near the site of the assault.

Local media reported that the prosecutor's sister, who was with her at the time of the attack, was also killed, according to Agence France-Presse.

Gloria Bravo had served as a public prosecutor for 15 years and had previously investigated multiple cases related to organized crime in the region.

She was involved in probing a recent fire that destroyed about 35 boats at a fishing port in Manta, the circumstances of which authorities have yet to clarify.

The leader of the Los Choneros gang, nicknamed "Vito," was arrested and extradited last year to the United States, where he faces charges of drug and arms trafficking.

Manta is among the Ecuadorian cities most affected by drug trafficking.

Approximately 70% of the cocaine entering Ecuador from its neighboring countries Colombia and Peru—two of the world's leading producers—passes through the country.

Despite U.S. support and the repressive policies implemented by Ecuador's right-wing President Daniel Noboa to combat drug trafficking, the crime rate in Ecuador reached 50.9 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2025.