(CNN Spanish) — The Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE) denounced this Sunday the murder of Eduardo Mendúa, leader of International Relations, belonging to the Kofán de Sucumbíos community.
“Our compañero was in his farm when hooded men shot him,” CONAIE reported through social networks.
The Ecuadorian Interior Minister, Juan Zapata, reported that police teams and the Prosecutor’s Office were activated to investigate the crime.
#URGENT
MURDERED Eduardo Mendúa, leader of International Relations, belonging to the Kofán de Sucumbíos nationality.
Our partner was in his farm when hooded men shot him, a crime related to the oil conflict.
We will give a pronouncement pic.twitter.com/FVZnhqCONd— CONAIE (@CONAIE_Ecuador) February 27, 2023
Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian Police reported through a statement that they have already deployed units to the province of Sucumbíos to find the material and intellectual authors of the crime.
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, expressed in a tweet the solidarity of his government with the Mendúa family and with CONAIE, and said that “the crime will not go unpunished. We have ordered all investigative actions to be carried out to find those responsible and bring them to justice.”
On Friday, CONAIE announced that it had decided to break the dialogue with the government and declare permanent mobilizations. It also reported the withdrawal of its delegates from the follow-up tables of a series of agreements reached last year after protests in Ecuador.
