Assassination of Omar Menéndez
2023 murder in Puerto López, Ecuador / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
On 4 February 2023, Omar Menéndez, a 41-year-old Ecuadorian man who was running as the Citizen Revolution Movement party's candidate for mayor in the canton of Puerto López, Manabí Province in the 2023 Ecuadorian local elections, was shot and killed by two unidentified men just a few hours before the ballots were officially opened.[1][2][3][4][5][6] Three other people were injured in the same shooting,[1][7] including a 16-year-old volunteer, who eventually died from complications after being taken to the hospital.[1][4][6][7]
Assassination of Omar Menéndez | |
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Location | Puerto López, Manabí Province, Ecuador |
Coordinates | 01°33′39″S 80°48′42″W |
Date | 4 February 2023; 15 months ago (2023-02-04) Circa 8 PM (UTC−5) |
Target | Omar Menéndez |
Attack type | Assassination by shooting |
Deaths | 2 (including Menéndez) |
Injured | 2 |
Perpetrator | Unknown |
Menéndez was one of the several candidates targeted by violent attacks in the run-up to the elections,[3][5][6] which were held alongside the 2023 Ecuadorian constitutional referendum and in the midst of an escalating wave of crime and violence across Ecuador, mainly linked to the then ongoing nationwide security crisis and the growing influence of criminal organizations with connections to drug trafficking in the country.[3][4][5][6]
Despite his assassination, Menéndez would go on to win the election posthumously, becoming the mayor of Puerto López.[4][5][6][8] As for Article 112 of the Code of Democracy [es], the regional office of the Citizen Revolution Movement was allowed to indicate a new candidate to replace him:[6][8] Verónica Lucas Marcillo was chosen to step in to fill the post on behalf of Menéndez, and would eventually be sworn in as the new mayor of the canton on 14 May 2023.[4][8]