Expat activist who challenged developers and government officials found dead near Montañita

Environmental and anti-corruption activist Monika Silva Koniuszek, who has publicly opposed several coastal real estate projects in Santa Elena Province, was found dead in her house in Manglaralto Monday afternoon.

Monika Silva Koniuszek

Police say Koniuszek, who went by the name of Monika Silva in Ecuador, died by asphyxiation and said an investigation is underway to determine details of her death. The Santa Elena Police Chief said the possibility of suicide and murder are “both being considered.”

A native of Poland, Silva had lived in Ecuador for more than a decade, according to authorities. Through her La Integridad foundation, she had recently denounced the sale of 93 hectares of public land in La Libertad which she claimed was illegal. She accused Mayor Otto Vera of “land trafficking” in the sale of the parcel to Alfredo Gellibert Villao, brother of Cynthia Gellibert, former Secretary of the Administration in the Daniel Noboa government.

Silva told friends she had received a number of death threats due to criticism of the sale, which she claimed was conducted in secret in violation of real estate laws.

Two other critics of the sale and friends of Silva, journalist Robinson del Pezo and attorney Víctor Tomalá, were murdered in recent months following their public comments.

Del Pozo, who accused the La Libertad city government and the local judiciary of corruption on his website “La Voz del Pueblo,” was shot and killed November 20 in a butcher shop.

Attorney Víctor Tomalá was gunned down on a road outside Ancón on January 19. A long-time critic of government corruption in Santa Elena Province, Tomalá posted comic sketches of the La Libertad property sale on social media.

In addition to her criticism of the sale, Silva recently posted documents showing that relatives of Ecuador Comptroller Mauricio Torres were working in government offices, a violation of the country’s nepotism law.

Beyond her anti-corruption activism, Silva was known for her advocacy of improving living conditions of Santa Elena residents, especially those in rural area of the province. Many communities, she claimed, lacked basic water and sewer service.