Ecuador police sergeant killed in Manta home as officer deaths rise

Sergeant César Ramiro Valverde Martínez of the Ecuadorian National Police was shot dead inside a residence in the Ceibo Renacer neighbourhood of Manta on the night of 28 July. The attacker(s) arrived in vehicles, entered the house and opened fire repeatedly, also wounding another person before fleeing. Valverde, a member of the National Canine Anti‑Narcotics Unit, was the latest victim in a wave that has seen five police officers murdered in the Manabí province over the past two months. Authorities have cordoned off the scene and begun an investigation, but no official motive or suspects have been identified yet.