Lady Gissela Pachar Huanga was driving through Machala on May 11, 2026, heading to a gym when gunmen opened fire on her vehicle in broad daylight. The judge, who worked in the criminal judicial unit, died in the attack despite having been assigned two bodyguards who were not present at the time.
The assassination occurred in the capital of El Oro province near the Peruvian border, making Pachar the latest victim in Ecuador’s escalating war between the state and powerful cocaine trafficking organizations that have turned this small Andean nation into one of the deadliest places in Latin America. A police source told AFP (Agence France-Presse) on Tuesday that the judge had been threatened and was targeted in retaliation for releasing gang members.
Sixteen Killed Since 2022
At least 16 judges or prosecutors have been killed in Ecuador since 2022, according to Human Rights Watch. Last October, another judge was gunned down by a motorbike-riding assassin while walking his children to school in an attack that briefly captured national attention before fading into the relentless cycle of cartel-related violence.
Ecuador sits at the center of the cocaine trade, with roughly 70 percent of product from Colombia and Peru — the world’s largest and second-largest producers — flowing through its ports and Pacific coastline. That strategic position has transformed the country’s courts, prisons and prosecutors’ offices into prime targets for trafficking networks that rely on corrupting or terrorizing the justice system to maintain operations.
The murder took place during a state of emergency specifically declared to combat organized crime, a detail that has fueled criticism of the government’s approach.
A Protective Detail That Wasn’t There
Pachar had been identified as a target, and the Council of the Judiciary confirmed she had protective measures in place. But those safeguards failed catastrophically on the day of her death.
“It should be noted that the judge had previously been assigned protective measures; however, these measures were not in place at the time of the attack,” the council said in a translated statement.
The disconnect between assigned protection and actual security reflects a systemic problem that prosecutors and judges throughout Ecuador have highlighted for years: protective details frequently exist only in official records rather than on the ground. By the time Pachar’s vehicle reached its destination, she was dead and her killers had vanished.
Ecuador’s Judicial Council condemned the attack as a “serious attack against justice and the rule of law in Ecuador” and demanded a full investigation in a statement released Monday. The Ecuadorian Judges’ Association condemned the murder on Tuesday, writing on social media: “Without independent judges, there is no justice.”
Noboa’s Hard-Line Bet
President Daniel Noboa has built his presidency around confronting the cartels since assuming power in November 2023, making him one of President Trump’s staunchest allies on the continent. His strategy has involved deploying soldiers both in the streets and inside prisons, conducting dramatic raids against drug strongholds, and repeatedly declaring states of emergency. Human rights groups have fiercely criticized these tactics, raising alarms about security forces abusing expanded powers.
Yet homicides have continued climbing despite the aggressive crackdown, with violent deaths reaching a record 9,216 last year. The state of emergency meant to prevent exactly these types of contract killings was in effect when Pachar was murdered.
American Commandos on the Ground
Washington has become increasingly involved in Ecuador’s security crisis as conditions have worsened. In early March, the United States and Ecuador launched joint military operations against designated terrorist organizations.
American commandos recently participated alongside Ecuadorian troops in Operation Lanza Marina, targeting a compound believed to function as a staging area for high-speed boats connected to Los Choneros, among the country’s most violent gangs. Two U.S. officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the operation publicly, said American forces worked in advisory roles, accompanying their Ecuadorian counterparts as they moved against the site.
The operation represents part of a wider push to dismantle maritime trafficking routes that have turned Ecuador’s coastline into a departure point for northbound cocaine shipments. But whether such escalation can safeguard officials like Pachar remains doubtful. Her assassins struck when she was alone, unprotected and following a predictable pattern — precisely the type of vulnerability that the cartels exploit easily in a nation where institutional corruption remains pervasive.
The Judicial Council’s statement emphasized what extends beyond one individual’s death. The judiciary, it warned, cannot function under intimidation or violence, and protecting its officers is fundamental to guaranteeing access to justice and the democratic order. In Machala on Monday, the gunmen offered their own response to that argument.
