Fishing boats burn off the port of Manta, Ecuador, on June 6. The Ecuadorian National Police said at least 20 boats were destroyed or damaged. Photo by Ariel Ochoa/EPA
June 15 (UPI) -- Ecuador's Attorney General's Office said a new attack targeting justice officials left a prosecutor dead in the port city of Manta.
Veteran criminal prosecutor Alexandra Bravo and her sister, Olinda Bravo, were shot and killed in broad daylight Sunday, raising renewed concerns about the security risks faced by judges and prosecutors in a country operating under a state-declared "internal armed conflict" against powerful drug trafficking organizations.
Authorities said the attack occurred as the sisters were leaving a restaurant and walking toward their parked vehicle. A gunman approached them and fired multiple shots at close range. Both women died at the scene, while the attacker escaped.
Bravo had worked for more than 15 years with the Manabí provincial prosecutor's office. At the time of her death, she was assigned to the Flagrant Crimes Unit, which handles high-risk cases involving organized crime, contract killings and kidnappings.
