Ecuador Judge Lady Pachar Shot Dead Amid State of Emergency Against Crime

An Ecuadoran judge was fatally shot during a state of emergency declared to combat organized crime, Ecuador's judicial oversight body said.

The Judicial Council called the killing of Lady Pachar a serious attack against justice and the rule of law in Ecuador in a statement released Monday.

Pachar was shot that day while traveling by car to a gym in the southwestern city of Machala, the capital of El Oro province bordering Peru. Her two bodyguards were not with her at the time, police in Machala said.

A police source told AFP on Tuesday that the judge had received threats and was killed in retaliation for the release of gang members.

The judiciary cannot carry out its work under intimidation or violence, the Judicial Council said in a statement.

At least 16 judges or prosecutors have been killed in Ecuador since 2022, according to Human Rights Watch. Last October, a gunman on a motorbike killed a judge while he was walking his children to school.

The Ecuadoran Judges' Association condemned Pachar's murder on Tuesday, writing on social media: Without independent judges, there is no justice.

Around 70 percent of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru, the world's largest and second-largest cocaine producers, respectively, are shipped through Ecuador.

President Daniel Noboa has prioritized targeting cocaine traffickers since he came to power in 2023. He has deployed soldiers on the streets and in prisons, launched raids on drug strongholds, and declared frequent states of emergency, measures criticized by human rights groups. Homicides rose to a record 9,216 violent deaths last year.

American commandos recently joined Ecuadorian troops in a joint mission called Lanza Marina to dismantle a suspected criminal hub along the country's coast. The site was believed to serve as a staging ground for high-speed boats linked to Los Choneros, two U.S. officials told CBS News on condition of anonymity.

The U.S. forces worked in advisory roles, assisting and accompanying their Ecuadorian counterparts as they moved against the site to curb trafficking networks that use fast-moving maritime routes.