Vilcabamba Ecuador: Expats find themselves increasingly targeted in armed home invasions

Rash of Attacks on Expats over the last several months in Vilcabamba, Malacatos Ecuador

Crime lurks in southeastern parishes
lahora.com.ec (machine translated) reported that expats and foreigners are becoming targets. Yesterday a group of expats met with authorities calling security and justice.

Monday night Feb. 22,2016) another assault was reported in the parish Vilcabamba neighborhood San Joaquin, leaving a seriously injured person because the shots that made criminals to enter his home, which was again highlighted the uncertainty that exists in this area and the viciousness with being committed these acts.

Therefore, residents of Vilcabamba and Malacatos and parishes were scheduled to meet yesterday with Johanna Ortiz Governor and the Mayor José Bolívar Castillo to apply a more effective safeguard measures. They also asked for quick and effective justice of the assailants. They expressed their concerns because the experiences the experiences to date have not been good.

A clear example
One of the victims of crime (name withheld) narrated that on December 4 last year a group of criminals entered his property in El Carmen (Malacatos), handcuffed and beat the caretaker and his two sons, and break into your room was shot when he tried to sit up.

He notes that in desperation tried to hide under the bed, where he was bullied with machetes and later threw incandescent material that ended up causing a fire in the room, which fortunately deter criminals, but his story does not end there.

Despite the wound, he freed the caretaker abroad and their children, one of whom called the police while the rest controlled the fire. He says it took two hours to respond and when they reached the site does not want to take his version, but instead interviewed the caregiver.

After what happened also was interviewed by the police about what happened that night, although it took a complaint with the Prosecutor’s Office and recognized the ringleader who currently is in custody for another crime committed in the same area . This citizen in his homeland for 26 years practiced law is surprised that despite the wealth of evidence left by criminals in an attempt to assassinate him he never took a single mark on your home.

At this time he went several times to the Prosecutor but only asked how identified the alleged leader of the band, nothing more. This citizen confidence has been affected like that of many others, are Ecuadorian or residents, because the problem affects everyone equally.

The victim has incurred many medical expenses, rehabilitation of housing, safety, and also denoted lawyers fear of what these people can do, which with its history wants to sensitize the authorities and the community about a serious problem so that no more innocent victims. (CAB)
“We visited Ecuador in 2006 and fell in love with the people and this land and decided to get a property here to live in peace.” Read Article

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