Court officials ask government for police protection from attacks and threats in eight provinces

The Ecuadorian Association of Judges and Magistrates (AEMAJ) is asking the government to provide police protection to more members of the judiciary in eight provinces. The request follows the murders of Judge Leidy Gisserla in Machala on May 11 and prosecutor Alexandra Brvo in Manta on June 14.

The Ecuadorian Association of Judges and Magistrates is demanding more police protection for court employees in eight provinces.

In addition, AEMAJ says several judges have received death threats in recent weeks and that a bomb was detonated at the Santa Elena Provincial Court.

The judges say Guayas, Pichincha, Los Ríos, El Oro, Santa Elena, Manabí, Santo Domingo and Sucumbíos Provinces have become dangerous for officers of the judicial system and that those receiving threats should be given armed protection.

The Association reports that 127 judicial officers working in the eight provinces have received threats in 2026, with 23 being victims of violence, including murder.

Alexander Barahona, spokesman for AEMAJ, say the “vast majority” of threats and attacks involve court cases in which drug traffickers are on trial. “We have been under attack for years due to the situation but have received limited protection,” she said, adding that currently only 58 judges and prosectors in the eight provinces have personal protection. “In recent months, the threat is growing,” she says.

In its request, AEMAJ listed attacks on court personnel from January 2024 and May 2026 in the eight provinces:

• 3 attacks on judicial infrastructure: Confirmed attacks, planting of live explosive devices and direct armed incursions perpetrated against buildings attributed to organized criminal groups.
• 11 attacks against public servants, including 5 murders: Physical aggressions, armed attacks, contract killings, attempted murders and direct armed persecutions in public spaces against magistrates, prosecutors or secretaries of the judicial system.
• 142 threats: Death threats, extortion pamphlets, coercion by digital platforms and telephone harassment through anonymous calls of bomb alerts, aimed at forcing paralysis and the preventive of judicial procedures.