others assassinated this year include — omar menendez, a candidate for mayor in the city of puerto lopezbruary, hours before the polls opened there. he won the election. the murder of is the latest in a string of deadly attacks on politicians this year, as local gangs forge alliances with international crime cartels. others assassinated this year include — omar menendez, a candidate for mayor in the city of puerto lopez. he was shot dead in february, hours before the polls opened there. he won the election. injuly, agustin intriago, the mayor of manta, was killed in a gun attack as he toured his port city. the most high profile murder, though, was last wednesday's assassination of fernando viyavicencio in quito. american fbi agents are now helping with the investigation into his murder. an expert on latin america at the economist intelligence unit, cristobal samardzich, told me that this spate of killings is a growing trend. ecuador has traditionally being a transit hub for drug and particularly cocaine shipments given it is so much between peru and colombia. the worlds largest producers