Officials in Colombia face threats while Ecuador mayor seeks urgent medical intervention

In Colombia, officials in Algeciras are facing repeated threats and intimidation. Mayor Alexander Martínez, ombudsman Raúl Alexis Forero, and the manager of municipal public utilities, Leonardo Aguirre Arias, have been targeted. The mayor reported having to relocate his wife and children for their safety and noted that requests for risk assessments from the National Protection Unit have gone unanswered. These threats occur in a region recently impacted by explosive attacks attributed to FARC dissidents.

In Ecuador, the legal defense for Guayaquil Mayor Aquiles Álvarez has denounced judicial delays that are preventing him from undergoing a scheduled gallbladder surgery. While held at El Encuentro prison, Álvarez's lawyer, Julio César Cueva, filed a habeas corpus petition to ensure the medical intervention proceeds. The defense claims that while other legal matters in Álvarez's cases have moved quickly, his medical requests have faced significant procedural stagnation, which they argue violates his right to health.