Colonel Porfirio Cedeño of the Ecuadorian Air Force was shot dead in Guayaquil on Friday while en route to a military ceremony in Manta.
Cedeño, who led a special operations unit focused on combating drug trafficking, contract killings, and extortion, had been instrumental in anti-narcotics operations in Durán, a city adjacent to Guayaquil.
🇪🇨On the morning of this Friday, Lieutenant Colonel Porfirio Javier Cedeño Cedeño, commander of the Special Operations Group of the Ecuadorian Air Force (GOEFA), was shot and killed. pic.twitter.com/gpHNTngkGb
— Uncensored News (@Uncensorednewsw) February 15, 2025
According to the Ecuadorian police, Cedeño was a passenger in a pickup truck en route to a military ceremony. Over 20 shots were reportedly fired at the vehicle, resulting in his immediate death and injuries to the driver.
Defense Minister Gian Carlo Loffredo said the colonel’s murder should be answered with “a war cry” against organized crime.
“It is in our hands to turn this act of cowardice into the end of an era of terror and of the miserable people who led it,” he said.
The military has announced a reward for information leading to the arrest of those responsible, though the exact amount has not been disclosed.
Ecuador, situated between major cocaine-producing nations Peru and Colombia, has seen a surge in criminal activity as transnational cartels exploit its ports to transport drugs to the United States and Europe.
In 2023, the country experienced a record 47 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, a significant rise from previous years.
