Ecuador’s youngest mayor, Brigitte Garcia, 27, and aide shot dead

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Ecuador’s youngest mayor and her aide were shot dead on Sunday, March 24, police in the South American country have said.

Brigitte Garcia, 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and her communications director Jairo Loor, were found dead in Manabi province, officers said.

National police said they were investigating the deaths of Garcia, the 27-year-old mayor of San Vicente, and Jairo Loor, her communications director, after the discovery of their bodies in the province of Manabi. Both had suffered gunshot wounds, police said in a statement.

Police added that the gunfire had come from within the car, which was rented, and they were tracking the vehicle’s GPS system.

Ms Garcia, a member of former president Rafael Correa’s left-wing Citizen Revolution Movement party is the latest political figure assassinated in Ecuador.

Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed last August while leaving a campaign event two weeks before the election. He was a vocal critic of corruption and organised crime.