New York, April 13, 2018 –The Committee to Protect Journalists today condemned the killing of three members of an Ecuadoran reporting team who were kidnapped on March 26 in northern Ecuador near the Colombian border and called for the perpetrators to face justice. President Lenín Moreno confirmed today that reporter Javier Ortega, photojournalist Paúl Rivas, and driver Efraín Segarra, who worked for Ecuadoran daily newspaper El Comercio, have been killed.
“We are horrified by the killing of Javier Ortega, Paúl Rivas, and Efraín Segarra,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “These reporters set out to tell a story of vital interest to the people in this border region, and it is unconscionable that their lives have been taken simply because they were doing their job. The people who carried out this heinous crime must be held accountable.”