‘They send doctors back to the mouth of the wolf’: killing of graduate stokes fears for Ecuador’s medics

‘They send doctors back to the mouth of the wolf’: killing of graduate stokes fears for Ecuador’s medics

Steven Aguirre Giler was shot in a failed kidnapping attempt as a growing number of rural health workers are targeted by extortionists

Jose Aguirre Giler never imagined his brother’s work as a doctor in a rural Ecuadorian town would end in kidnapping attempts and fatal gunfire. His youngest brother, Steven, had a bright future ahead of him after graduating from medical school in 2023 and starting a government-mandated year of service at a health centre in Guayas, a south-western province racked by drug gang violence. “He helped out anyone who needed help,” says Jose.

The first kidnapping attempt was in November 2023 as Steven was on his way to work, according to the Ministry of Public Health. His brother says the attack went awry when the assailants’ car was damaged, and Steven escaped. After that came anonymous threats demanding money.

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