Brigitte Garcia: Ecuador's youngest mayor, 27, shot dead alongside communications director Jairo Loor

Ecuador's youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia, and an aide were shot dead in the country on Sunday, March 24.

The 27-year-old politician was found inside a rental car in the Manabi province of the country alongside her communications direction Jairo Loor. Garcia, a member of the left-wing Citizen Revolution Movement party led by former president Rafael Correa, had served as the mayor of San Vicente.

Police in the country said that both Ms Garcia and Mr Loor had suffered from gunshot wounds. They added that initial investigations showed that the gunfire had come from inside the rented vehicle.

It is the latest in a series of political killings in the country. Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed in August 2023, two weeks before the presidential election. He had been a noted outspoken opponent of organised crime and corruption. Manta mayor Agustin Intriago was also killed while touring a construction site in 2023.

Former President Correa and Luisa Gonzalez, who ran as the presidential candidate for the Citizen Revolution Movement party in the latest election, called Ms Garcia's death an assassination. Mr Correa said: "I've just found out they've assassinated our fellow mayor of San Vicente Brigitte Garcia. I have no words, in shock, nobody is safe in Ecuador NOBODY."