International rights group decries attack on Ecuador journalist News
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International rights group decries attack on Ecuador journalist

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on Friday expressed concern over the targeted shooting of an Ecuadoran journalist and called on authorities to continue investigating the matter.

The group reported that two gunmen shot journalist José Vinces in the stomach while he investigated a tip that human remains lay abandoned in the Huaquillas cemetery. Vinces was discharged from the hospital on Wednesday following treatment. Police confirmed that the tip was fabricated and that the attackers likely set up Vinces to target him.

Vinces, founder of El Oro province news outlet Vinces TV, told CPJ that the gunmen fired at him 10 times. The outlet, in a statement responding to the attack, said:

We urge the authorities to continue the investigations immediately, transparently, and effectively, until those responsible are identified and punished. Acts like these cannot go unpunished. We also reaffirm that Vinces TV will continue working with the same conviction, firmness, and commitment in defense of the community, its complaints, and its right to be heard.

According to the CPJ, Vinces is a “frequent critic of [the] Huaquillas mayor” and “often reports on crime and local government corruption.” CPJ’s regional director for the Americas, José Zamora, urged authorities to “swiftly” investigate the attack and “determine whether the attack was linked to his reporting, and hold those responsible to account.”

The Coordinating Committee for the Protection of Journalists (MAPP) issued a statement strongly condemning the attack and demanded that state agencies take “immediate action” to protect Vinces. MAPP said that the “situation is especially critical in provinces like El Oro, which experience high levels of violence.”

MAPP also emphasized how violence against journalists “deepen the levels of self-censorship in Ecuadorian provinces where reporting has become a high-risk activity.” In 2025, the Journalists Unchained Foundation reported 168 attacks against journalists and media workers in Ecuador.

Freedom of expression is protected under Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

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