MACHALA — Lady Pachar was fatally shot on May 11, 2026, while traveling by car to a gym in Machala, the capital of El Oro province in southwestern Ecuador. Her two bodyguards were not with her at the time of the shooting.

Ecuadorian police officers worked at the crime scene in Machala on the day of the killing. According to a police source, Pachar had received threats before her death and was killed in retaliation for the release of gang members.

"The judiciary cannot carry out its work under intimidation or violence." Ecuador's Judicial Council said following the killing. The Ecuadoran Judges' Association said, "Without independent judges, there is no justice."

At least 16 judges or prosecutors have been killed in Ecuador since 2022, according to Human Rights Watch. In October 2025, a gunman on a motorbike killed a judge in Ecuador while he was walking his children to school.

The killing occurred while Ecuador was under a state of emergency declared to combat organized crime. The country recorded 9,216 violent deaths last year, a record high.

Around 70 percent of the drugs produced by Colombia and Peru are shipped through Ecuador. Colombia is the world's largest cocaine producer, and Peru is the world's second-largest.

Since assuming the presidency in 2023, Daniel Noboa has prioritized targeting cocaine traffickers, deployed soldiers on the streets and in prisons, launched raids on drug strongholds, and declared frequent states of emergency. Human rights groups have criticized the security measures.

In early March 2026, the United States and Ecuador launched joint military operations against designated terrorist organizations in Ecuador. According to U.S. officials, American commandos joined Ecuadorian troops in a joint mission, dubbed Lanza Marina, to dismantle a suspected criminal hub operated by an alleged narco-terrorist organization along Ecuador's coast.

The operation focused on a compound believed to serve as a staging ground for high-speed boats linked to Los Choneros, according to U.S. officials. American forces worked in advisory roles, assisting and accompanying their Ecuadorian counterparts during the operation, which officials described as part of a broader effort to curb trafficking networks that rely on fast-moving maritime routes.