“As Ecuador’s presidential election campaign enters its final stretch ahead of the vote on Feb. 9, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) urges all candidates to make enforcing journalists’ safety a chief goal. At least 19 journalists have been forced into exile in the past two years, a sign that the country’s deepening security crisis is pushing the insufficient protections for media workers to the brink of collapse.
Exile, a last resort, is becoming more common in Ecuador as journalists increasingly face extreme threats. According to RSF’s local partner, the non-profit Fundación Periodistas Sin Cadenas, 19 Ecuadorian journalists have fled since 2023, usually after receiving direct threats linked to their investigative reporting.”
