Ex-Ecuador beauty queen linked to drug trafficking case killed

QUITO.— A former beauty queen of Ecuadormentioned in a case that the Prosecutor’s Office is investigating regarding the presence of a corruption and drug trafficking network in state institutions, was murdered on Sunday, as confirmed by the authorities.

In a message sent to journalists and without specifying details, the police reported that the violent death of Landy Parraga, 23 years old, occurred on Sunday afternoon in the city of Quevedo, 139 kilometers southwest of the capital. For its part, the Prosecutor’s Office indicated on the social network X, formerly Twitter, that the homicide occurred in a commercial establishment after an armed attack.

Units from these institutions are investigating to determine the causes and those responsible.

The murder of Landy Párraga was recorded in a video broadcast in local mediain which you can observe the moment when two armed individuals attack the young woman —who was standing next to a table in a food establishment—. The men then flee the scene. She was left lying on the ground.

“Metastasis” case

Landy Párraga, model, vicereine of beauty of Quevedo and candidate of Miss Ecuador 2022appears in one of the conversations taken from the cell phone of the Ecuadorian drug trafficker Leandro Norero, murdered two years ago in a prison in the center of the Andean country. The Public Ministry announced them within the “Metastasis” case, in which it is investigating an organized crime network.

In this case, more than 50 people were prosecuted for a plan to deliver money to judicial officials in exchange for favorable rulings for Norero and his relatives. He also involves senior officials of the judiciary and the police, prison system guards and lawyers, among others.

The authorities have indicated that the operation in Ecuador of organized crime structures linked to transnational drug trafficking cartels has increased the levels of violence and various crimes, including kidnappings, extortion and robberies, among others.

The country ended last year with 7,600 violent deaths, which represents more than 40 murders per 100,000 inhabitants, one of the highest rates in the region, according to police figures.

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