Diana Salazar Méndez

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Salazar and the second or maternal family name is Méndez.

Diana Salazar Méndez (born 5 June 1981, Ibarra, Ecuador) is an Ecuadorian jurist and lawyer, and the current Attorney-General of Ecuador.^[1][2] She was said to be leading the country's fight against "narcopolitics" in January 2024.

Diana Salazar Méndez
Salazar in January 2024
Born	(1981-06-05) June 5, 1981 (age 42) Ibarra (Imbabura Province)
Nationality	Ecuadorian
Education	Central University of Ecuador Simón Bolívar Andean University University of Castilla–La Mancha Universidad Tecnológica Indoamérica
Occupation(s)	Jurist, lawyer, prosecutor
Office	Attorney General of Ecuador
Term	8 April 2019–
Predecessor	Ruth Palacios Brito
Website	Official website Twitter

Early life and education

Salazar spent her childhood in her native Ibarra, moving to Quito at age 16 with family.^[3] She was raised solely by her mother Olivia Méndez, an educational psychologist, along with three siblings.^[2][4]

She is of Afro-Ecuadorian descent.^[2] Salazar has a degree in Political and Social Sciences from the Central University of Ecuador. She also has a master's degree in Procedural Law with a Criminal mention, from the Indoamérica Technological University.^[1]

Career

In 2001, at the age of 20, she began working in the Pichincha Prosecutor's Office as an assistant prosecutor, while still studying at the Central University Law School. In 2006 she was promoted as a secretary in the office, and in 2011 she became a prosecutor for the south of the capital.^[4]

As prosecutor, Salazar investigated the 2015 FIFA corruption case, in which the ex-president of the Ecuadorian Football Federation Luis Chiriboga was arrested. She later chaired the Financial and Economic Analysis Unit, and directed investigations into corruption, such as then Vice President Jorge Glas's involvement in the Odebrecht scandal.^[5]

Diana Salazar was appointed unanimously as the Attorney General of Ecuador by the transitionary Council for Citizen Participation and Social Control on 1 April 2019.^[3]

In December 2023, she led operation Metastasis which led to the arrest of the president of the Judiciary and another police senior figure for organized crime and drug trafficking.^[6] There were 30 arrests and 75 raids. She was said to be leading the country's fight against "narcopolitics" in January 2024 because politicians and judges were collaborating with drug gangs. This was during events was when a national TV station's live programme was taken over at gun point and one of the country's most notorious criminals, José Adolfo Macías Villamar went missing from prison.^[7]

References

1. [Diana Salazar Méndez was inaugurated as Attorney General of the State] (in Spanish). 8 April 2019. Archived from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
2. "dianasalazarmendez.com" (in Spanish). Retrieved 21 December 2023.
3. Velez, Roger (1 April 2019). "Diana Salazar es la nueva Fiscal General con el puntaje más alto en el Cpccs-t". El Comercio. from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
4. "¿Quién es Diana Salazar?" [Who is Diana Salazar?]. Vistazo (in Spanish). 2 April 2019. from the original on 8 April 2019. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
5. "Breaking News, Ecuador News, World, Sports, Entertainment » Diana Salazar is the new Attorney General of Ecuador". www.ecuadortimes.net. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
6. Plan V (14 December 2023). "Wilman Terán y Pablo Ramírez, detenidos por investigación relacionada con delincuencia organizada y narcotráfico" (in Spanish). Retrieved 20 December 2023.
7. "MSN". www.msn.com. Retrieved 25 January 2024.

Preceded by Ruth Palacios Brito

Attorney General of Ecuador 8 April 2019 – present

Incumbent