Assassination attempt in Ecuador – Mayor of the city of Manta dead Esa plans first controlled satellite crash

The mayor of the Ecuadorian city of Manta, Agustín Intriago, has been murdered. Intriago was the victim of an assassination attempt, President Guillermo Lasso wrote this on Twitter on Sunday. The background was initially unclear. Interior Minister Juan Zapata tweeted that it was an armed attack. There was a second fatality and four injuries – two of them are in police custody for alleged involvement in the crime at a clinic. The public prosecutor has reported an arrest.

The identity of the second dead person was initially not disclosed – media reports say it is said to be a woman. Among other things, the newspaper “El Universo” reported that Intriago was shot early Sunday afternoon (local time) while visiting the site of a planned construction project. According to a report from the local portal “La Marea”, several men had hit the vehicle and opened fire. According to the reports, Intriago was initially taken to a hospital and was pronounced dead soon after.

According to the media, Intriago was 38 years old and the father of two children. People on social media have expressed their dismay at the incident, sharing videos of him with his two children:

The lawyer won a second term as head of government in February elections as a candidate for the local alliance “Mejor Ciudad” (Better City). Manta is a port city on the Pacific Ocean with more than 200,000 inhabitants.

The South American country is suffering from a wave of violence largely attributed to drug-smuggling gangs. The murder rate of about 25 murders per 100,000 inhabitants last year was the highest in the Andean country’s history and one of the highest in Latin America. Lasso wrote that he had instructed the chief of the national police to deploy as many officers as necessary to track down those responsible for the murder. (saw/sda/dpa)