Ecuador's security insecurity in the presidential election next month...the murder of the incumbent mayor

In Ecuador, South America, where the presidential election will be held next month, the incumbent mayor was shot and killed by gunmen.Ecuador's Ministry of Interior

said it was "saddened by the death of Mayor Eber Ponce Rossero" and "investigators are working to find those responsible and punish them severely."Ecuadorian media outlet Eluniverso
reported on the afternoon of the 11th local time that Rossero, the mayor of Areniyas, a city of 30,000 people in Elo State, was treated at a hospital after being shot with several bullets.

The men on the motorcycle attacked Mayor Rossero's vehicle on the move after attending a local event, and three passengers were also injured.

"We cannot allow fear and anxiety to continue to take precious lives," Elo Governor Clemente Bravo said.Ecuador

has been plagued by gang-to-gang disputes in recent years as it has been used as a drug trade channel to Europe and North America.

In particular, candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed ahead of the 2023 by-election.

Early last year, gunmen broke into a live broadcasting station and went on a rampage, and since then, incumbent heads of local governments, prosecutors, and prison directors have been attacked one after another.

The security situation appeared somewhat subdued this year as 37-year-old President Daniel Novoah, who took office in November 2023, declared a national emergency and carried out a gang sweep.

However, with less than a month left before the presidential election on the 9th of next month, local media reported that such an incident has renewed public anxiety.

Sixteen people are running in Ecuador's presidential election, with Novoah, who is seeking a second term, effectively facing off against Luisa González, the leader of the civil revolutionary movement, who was defeated in 2023.