21.04.2025 11:51
In an incident that took place in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve in Ecuador's Amazon region, a British tourist was burned alive by an angry mob. According to reports, the tourist shot and killed a local resident named Rodrigo Chavez. After the tourist was handed over to the police station, the furious crowd stormed the station and set the tourist on fire.
The brutality that occurred last week in the Cuyabeno Wildlife Reserve, a tourist area in Ecuador's Amazon region, has resonated widely in the global press. A British tourist was forcibly taken from a police station by an angry mob after being accused of murder and was burned alive.
According to local media reports, the incident unfolded as follows:
On Sunday, April 20, during a celebration of the Kichwa indigenous community, a dispute arose between the British tourist and the local people. During the argument, it was alleged that the British tourist shot and killed a local resident named Rodrigo Chavez.
Following this, the tourist was captured by the local people and handed over to the police station. However, just a few hours after the incident, an angry mob stormed the station. While the police did not intervene, the crowd pulled the British tourist outside and set him on fire.
According to a report by Ecuavisa newspaper, security forces did not intervene in the incident, and the man died from burns.
The Ecuadorian news site Extra stated that the police made no attempts to stop the crowd. A local television channel reported that "two people died during the anniversary event of the Kichwa community, one being a local and the other a British citizen who died from burn violence."
As of now, there has been no official statement from the British Foreign Office regarding the incident. It is also unclear whether those involved in the lynching have been arrested.
In rural areas of Ecuador, particularly in regions inhabited by indigenous communities, the inadequacy of law enforcement and the occasional application of "vigilante justice" by the public has been observed before. This brutality, occurring in the Amazon region frequently visited by foreign tourists, has once again raised security concerns in the area.