In a statement released Wednesday, March 5, the Office of the Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Expression of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) expressed concern over the situation for journalists in Ecuador following a visit to the country in January 2025.
The office identified serious threats, particularly from organized crime, and issued several recommendations. They include increasing funding for the Mechanism for the Prevention and Protection of Journalistic Work to ensure its effective operation, improving coordination among agencies involved in the mechanism, adapting protection measures so journalists can safely do their work, and increasing transparency in access to public information and government interviews.
According to official data cited in the statement, 11 media workers have been killed in Ecuador since 2021, while 131 attacks were reported in 2024, and at least 15 journalists have gone into exile in the past two years. The statement was released the same day journalist Patricio Aguilar was shot and killed in the coastal province of Esmeraldas, a crime that shocked the country.
