Ecuador: Reporter Mónica Velásquez Flees Country Due to Death Threats
CFWIJ expresses grave concern for journalist's safety and urges the international community to intervene immediately
Location: Ecuador, Quito
Date: July 25, 2023
La Posta reporter Mónica Velásquez flees Ecuador after receiving a barrage of death threats and a potential assassination plot targeting her and her spouse, fellow journalist and co-founder of La Posta. The threats follow Velásquez’s exposé of corruption, implicating Danilo Carrera, President Guillermo Lasso's brother-in-law, and various public officials. The Coalition For Women In Journalism strongly condemns the lack of action taken by local authorities, which is deeply disheartening. We demand prompt accountability and urge the international community to intervene without delay.
Andersson Boscán and Mónica Velásquez, journalists from the local digital outlet La Posta in Ecuador, have fled the country in response to death threats and reported assassination attempts targeting them. Boscán and Velásquez have relocated to a secure country, as disclosed by the Andean Foundation for the Observation and Study of Media (Fundamedios), an organization dedicated to safeguarding freedom of expression in Ecuador, on Tuesday, July 25.
The journalists are members of an investigative team that exposed corruption in Ecuador, involving Danilo Carrera, who is President Guillermo Lasso's brother-in-law, along with several public officials. The investigation El Gran Padrino also uncovered potential connections between influential individuals and Albanian mafia members.
According to the investigation, there are claims of an alleged network of corruption within public corporations. It is reported that this network involves the president's brother-in-law, and there are also allegations of financial involvement by the Albanian mafia in the presidential campaign led by Guillermo Lasso.
Referencing a letter from the journalists, Fundamedios, on its website, provided a detailed account stating that sources from "foreign intelligence" alerted the journalists about the presence of an active faction of the Albanian mafia in Ecuador. These sources indicated that the group had recently arrived in the country with the intention of targeting the lives of the journalists and potentially others as well.
La Posta’s team has been legally harassed, threatened, and intimidated by diverse armed groups and individuals linked to organized crime, Boscán and Velásquez tell CFWIJ.
"Our journalists have experienced constant surveillance and the public disclosure of their personal affairs,” Velásquez tells CFWIJ. “Despite the hazards we have confronted, neither the law enforcement nor the government authorities have provided any warning about the imminent perils we faced."
The journalist couple received their initial threat from organized crime in October 2021, including a photo of their daughters. However, following their investigation, which implicated President Guillermo Lasso's brother-in-law in a corruption and drug trafficking scheme, threats intensified significantly.
In response to the investigation, the President called La Posta and its journalists “media terrorists” during a press conference.
La Posta characterized the threats as "specific and alarming." Additionally, they clarified that the journalists' decision to leave was made after carefully evaluating the situation, considering multiple sources, and considering the advice provided by international security professionals.
The media outlet asserts that the government was aware of these ongoing threats for months, yet they claim they were never informed or provided any support or assistance. This statement is corroborated by three separate meetings they had with international intelligence services.
Ecuador's media climate grows increasingly perilous
The Organic Law on Communication (LOC), implemented in 2013, has experienced a diversion from its original intent and has frequently resulted in adverse consequences for journalists. It has been invoked to justify terminations, defamation lawsuits, and fines imposed on reporters. However, under Lasso's administration, the most crucial aspects of the LOC have undergone reforms. The concepts of "media lynching," the role of the media supervisor, and the regulation of journalistic ethics outlined in Article 10 have all been abolished.
In recent months, there has been a significant surge in violence, crime, kidnapping, and extortion levels. This escalation can be attributed to the activities of national and international criminal organizations engaged in territorial disputes concerning drug distribution and smuggling routes, among other criminal activities. As a result, the overall social environment has become increasingly tense and alarming at all levels of society.
As CFWIJ has documented, in March, the first journalist to leave Ecuador this year was Karol Noroña from the digital media GK. Subsequently, in June, another journalist, Lissete Ormaza, had to leave her place of work and city, Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas, due to threats and an assassination attempt disguised as a traffic accident.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism stands in solidarity with Mónica Velásquez and expresses serious apprehension regarding the safety of journalists in Ecuador. The inadequate response from the competent authorities is deeply troubling, and we firmly request swift intervention from the international community.
The Coalition For Women In Journalism is a global organization of support for women journalists. The CFWIJ pioneered mentorship for mid-career women journalists across several countries around the world and is the first organization to focus on the status of free press for women journalists. We thoroughly document cases of any form of abuse against women in any part of the globe. Our system of individuals and organizations brings together the experience and mentorship necessary to help female career journalists navigate the industry. Our goal is to help develop a strong mechanism where women journalists can work safely and thrive.
If you have been harassed or abused in any way, and please report the incident by using the following form.