Hitmen murdered the journalist Leonardo Rivasdigital radio news director Affectionatelocated in the coastal province of Guayas, one of the most affected by the insecurity crisis it faces Ecuador.
The radio station reported on its Facebook account that the journalist was “victim of a tragic hitman-style violent act” this Saturday morning on the road to Daule, in the province of Guayas.
This Sunday, the Andean Foundation for Media Observation and Study (Fundamedios), condemned the murder and demanded “that the authorities investigate thoroughly and find those responsible for this act that threatens freedom of expression and the press.”
In the middle of the month, Fundamedios led a delegation made up of journalists, activists and members of civil society organizations from Ecuador, who presented before the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) “the growing threats and violations” who suffer in the country.
In the hearing held within the framework of the 191st period of sessions of the IACHR, in Washington, the participating organizations denounced “the consequences of the escalation of violence related to drug trafficking and organized crime, which has placed those who fight for human rights and freedom of the press in Ecuador,” Fundamedios noted at the time.
From January 2024 until mid-November, Fundamedios recorded 151 attacks against freedom of expression and the press in Ecuador.
Furthermore, the escalation of violence forced 13 journalists to leave the country between 2023 and 2024 due to direct threats against their lives and family integrity.
At the hearing, the delegation asked the Ecuadorian State to guarantee the necessary financing for the journalist protection mechanism, allocating adequate resources to assess risks, implement protection policies and facilitate the reporting of acts of violence against journalists.
In addition, they requested “truth, responsibility, non-repetition and comprehensive reparation for the direct and indirect victims of crimes against journalists, as well as transnational cooperation to investigate these cases and prosecute those responsible.”
In particular, they pointed out, they should investigate cases “as serious and emblematic” as the murder, in 2018, of three members of a team from the newspaper The Commerceat the hands of FARC dissidents, as well as the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, a journalist who used to denounce acts of corruption, who was shot when he left a rally for his presidential campaign last year.
Likewise, the armed attack on TC Television while broadcasting a live program last January, which added to a series of violent acts that led to the head of state, Daniel Noboato declare the ‘internal armed conflict’ against the criminal gangs, which he began to call “terrorists.”
(With information from EFE)
