Tomás Beltrán was shot dead amid gang warfare that has turned Latin American country into one of its most violent
Tomás Beltrán was manoeuvring his car into his garage on Sunday night when the Ecuadorian journalist was shot dead.
Beltrán ran a Facebook page with news about Calceta, a small city in the province of Manabí, whose Pacific coastline has made it a key flashpoint in the gang warfare over drug trafficking routes that has transformed one of Latin America’s safest countries into one of its most violent.
Police and the public prosecutor’s office have not said much about the case, and little was known about the killers except that they were armed and then fled the scene. It was also unclear whether the crime was linked to Beltrán’s work, though he had previously reported allegations of corruption involving local authorities.
Regardless, many press freedom groups already cite his murder as the latest example of how conditions for journalists have deteriorated dramatically in Ecuador. Six journalists were killed in the country last year alone.
Artur Romeu, Reporters Without Borders’ Latin America director, said in a statement that months ago Beltrán had told the organisation “about his fears and the threats he was receiving”.
“We took part in efforts to get him to safety,”
