Hitmen murder the head of municipal security in Ecuador

Portoviejo, Ecuador. In a tragic event in Portoviejo, Claudia Martínez Barberán, head of municipal security, was murdered in an attack while she was on her way to participate in an official event. The incident occurred this Friday in one of the busiest avenues in the city, according to local media and confirmed by the mayor of Portoviejo, Javier Pincay.

Claudia Martínez, who served as director of Citizen Security and Territorial Control, was the victim of an attack by hitmen. The attack occurred while the official was traveling to attend the delivery of a street, within the framework of her daily work.

“The pain that overwhelms us is very strong. Claudia was a brave woman, dedicated to her work as Director of Citizen Security and Territorial Control and today she is taken from us,” Mayor Pincay expressed regretfully on his social networks.

“I ask the national government to militarize the city, (to) increase security for those of us who serve Portoviejo today. I hope that very soon, in honor of all the victims of violence, Ecuador can regain peace,” he added.

The murder of Martínez Barberán occurs in a context of growing violence in the country, where President Daniel Noboa has declared an “internal armed conflict” to combat organized crime gangs.

This attack occurs just three days after the police allegedly thwarted an attack against Mayor Pincay himself, arresting two armed men carrying photographs of the municipal authority.