Key facts
- Police and the public prosecutor's office have said little about the case; the killers were armed and fled the scene.
- It was unclear whether the killing was linked to Beltrán's work, though he had reported corruption allegations involving local authorities.
- Reporters Without Borders said Beltrán had been placed in a prosecutor-run protection programme, and it was not known whether that protection was in place when he was killed.
- Reporters Without Borders' Artur Romeu called on the public prosecutor's office to investigate as a priority whether the killing was linked to Beltrán's journalism.
- Fundación Periodistas Sin Cadenas said six journalists were killed in Ecuador last year and all of those killings remain unpunished.
- FPSC's María Fernanda Almeida said reporters covering military operations have had phones confiscated and one journalist was threatened by soldiers for filming.
Ecuadorian journalist Tomás Beltrán was shot dead on the night of November 8, 2026, as he manoeuvred his car into his garage in Calceta, a small city in the province of Manabí, according to a report published on November 11. Beltrán ran a Facebook page carrying news about the city. Police and the public prosecutor's office have said little about the case, and little was known about the killers beyond that they were armed and fled the scene.
It was unclear whether the crime was linked to Beltrán's work, though he had previously reported allegations of corruption involving local authorities. Manabí's Pacific coastline has made it a flashpoint in gang warfare over drug trafficking routes. Ecuador does not produce cocaine like neighbouring Colombia and Peru, but it has become a trafficking hub, particularly through the Pacific.
Artur Romeu, Reporters Without Borders' Latin America director, said in a statement that Beltrán had told the organisation months earlier about his fears and the threats he was receiving. Romeu said the group took part in efforts to get Beltrán to safety and that he had been placed in a protection programme run by the public prosecutor's office, though it was not known whether that protection was still in place when he was killed. Romeu called on the prosecutor's office to investigate as a priority whether there was a link to Beltrán's journalistic work, identify possible masterminds and protect his family and colleagues.