Mobs Attack Venezuelan Migrants as Ecuador Pledges Tougher Rules
- Riots break out after pregnant woman hostage stabbed to death
- More than two million Venezuelans have fled economic collapse
This article is for subscribers only.
An outbreak of xenophobic rioting in northern Ecuador sent dozens of Venezuelan migrants fleeing and led the government to pledge tougher curbs on immigration.
The violence in Ibarra, a provincial capital of 150,000, began after a man knifed a pregnant young Ecuadorian during a hostage standoff. The perpetrator, who police said was a Venezuelan national, held security forces and civilians at bay with a knife for 90 minutes on Saturday night, before stabbing the 22-year old mother of two, who later died in hospital along with her unborn baby.