23/06/2026 19:05 - Internacionales
Ecuador's Interior Minister, John Reimberg, made a public clarification on Monday, June 23, 2025 regarding his initial statement about the death of Polish-Ecuadorian activist Monika Silva, who was found dead on June 8 at her home in Montañita, a popular beach town in Santa Elena province on Ecuador's Pacific coast.
Reimberg explained that when he mentioned the "suicide" hypothesis the day after the body was found, he based his statement on a preliminary police report prepared after inspecting the scene, as well as statements provided by Monika Silva's partner.
The minister noted that five days had passed since the autopsy and the cause of death remained undetermined, a situation he considered unusual. According to Reimberg, normally within 20 minutes of completing an autopsy, authorities have clarity about what happened.
Ecuador's Interior Ministry requested the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to seek international technical assistance for the case. The Foreign Ministry confirmed that two forensic experts from Argentina would participate in the investigation and that they are awaiting a response from Poland.
Organizations such as CEPAM (Centro Ecuatoriano de Promoción y Acción de las Mujeres) and CDH (Centro de Derechos Humanos), which took on the legal representation of Monika Silva's family, stated that the autopsy report revealed that the death was violent, suggesting that the activist may have been murdered.
Meanwhile, Poland's Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation on its own initiative for suspected involuntary homicide.
Andrea Bolaños, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, urged the Ecuadorian government to:
The rapporteur noted that after forensic authorities indicated that the circumstances of death do not match a suicide, the case "acquires particular gravity".
Monika Silva was a well-known activist in the Montañita area, famous for reporting cases of alleged corruption in this coastal tourist destination. Montañita is renowned internationally as a surfing and backpacking destination, but like many tourist areas in Latin America, it faces challenges related to governance and transparency.
Her death caused international shock and demands for clarification from the European Union Delegation in Ecuador and the Polish Embassy in Peru, which is also accredited for Ecuador.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) urged the State to include among the lines of investigation a possible link to her human rights defense work and her corruption complaints.
The Monika Silva case highlights the risks faced by human rights defenders in Latin America, one of the most dangerous regions in the world for those who denounce corruption and injustice. Organizations such as Front Line Defenders and Global Witness have documented how activists in the region face threats, criminalization, and violence for their work.
The participation of Argentine forensic experts reflects a practice of regional cooperation in complex cases, leveraging Argentina's internationally recognized expertise in forensic anthropology, developed since the return to democracy in 1983.
Alfredo S. Quiroga
