Hitmen Assassinate Duran City Prosecutor in Ecuador

On Thursday, the Ecuadorian Attorney General's Office confirmed the death of Prosecutor Leonardo Palacios in Duran, a neighboring city of Guayaquil, which is one of the areas most affected by crime and insecurity since Guillermo Lasso became president in 2021.

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According to the first investigations, Palacios and his secretary were shot at by unknown persons when they were driving a vehicle a few blocks from his office.

Officials of the Attorney General's Office arrived at the site of the attack to begin investigations and find the culprits. At the crime scene, police officers found more than 40 bullets.

Meanwhile, army soldiers and police officers carried out a joint operation to try to locate and surround the hitmen.

The tweet reads, "Sicarios assassinated Duran Prosecutor Leonardo Palacios. The attackers fired from a motorcycle as the officer was returning home."

"Over 10 hours have passed since Palacios assassination... President Guillermo Lasso, however, has not said a single word on social networks," journalist Alexis Moncayo said, highlighting the inability of his administration to react to the prevailing violence in Ecuador.

After the attack, the prosecutor's vehicle, whose windshield was perforated by multiple bullet holes, was left stranded in the middle of Rodas street, a few meters from a judicial office.

Despite witnesses' attempts to help the victims, the prosecutor died instantly. The secretariat survived the attack and tried to help Palacios, who had no vital signs, newspaper El Universo reported, noting that the police arrived at the crime scene half an hour after the events.