A former Ecuadorian beauty queen was shot and killed by two armed men in broad daylight in Quevedo on Sunday, New York Post reported. The shocking daylight murder came after she had been linked to a notorious gang boss who tried to keep their connection hidden.
A horrific CCTV footage that captured the incident shows how two gunmen burst into the eatery as Landy Parraga Goyburo and another man stood at a table. As she stood there chatting with him, two gunmen entered the restaurant without her noticing. As the first gunman ran towards them, Ms Goyburo dropped to the floor while the man next to her ducked for cover.
However, he charged at them and shot both of them while the second gunman stood on guard by the restaurant door. Both armed assailants then flee the scene, dashing out of the door and onto the street. Images later showed the former beauty queen lying motionless on the floor in a pool of blood.
According to local Ecuavisa, she had been in Quevedo to attend a wedding on Saturday.
The police are now investigating the incident, working to discover the motive and identify the assailants responsible.
Ms Parraga was a former Miss Ecuador contestant, having represented Los Ríos Province in 2022. She had more than a million followers across her social media accounts. At just 23 years old, Ms Parraga was the owner of a household goods importer and ran her sportswear line.
She made headlines last December when her name was mentioned in a chat between drug trafficker Leandro Norero and his accountant, Helive Angulo.
In the chat, Angulo told the drug trafficker Leandro Norero that the police had asked him about Ms Párraga.
Norero wrote: ”If my wife comes across anything about her, I’m screwed. My friend, her name cannot come out anywhere. Otherwise, my world will come crashing down.”
Norero was killed in prison in 2022, six months after his imprisonment.