World News

Shocking moment beauty queen is gunned down in public after she was linked to Ecuadorian gang boss

By
Social Links for Ronny Reyes
Published April 29, 2024, 12:03 p.m. ET

WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES

A former Miss Ecuador contestant was shot and killed by two gunmen in broad daylight after she had been linked to a notorious gang boss who tried to keep their connection hidden.

Shocking security footage shows beauty queen Landy Párraga Goyburo, 23, chatting to a man inside a restaurant in Quevedo on Sunday when she spots her masked assailants sneaking by the door.

One of the gunmen dashes towards her and fires his gun, striking both Párraga and the man she was talking to.

Landy Párraga Goyburo was in a restaurant in Quevedo, Ecuador, on Sunday when she was shot and killed.
Landy Párraga Goyburo was in a restaurant in Quevedo, Ecuador, on Sunday when she was shot and killed.
The 23-year-old beauty queen had represented Los Rios in the 2022 Miss Ecuador pageant.
The 23-year-old beauty queen had represented Los Rios in the 2022 Miss Ecuador pageant. Landy Parraga/Instagram

The second gunman stays by the door to stand guard, and after the deed is done, both attackers flee the scene.

The beauty pageant queen is left motionless on the floor, lying in a pool of blood.

Párraga, who represented the Los Rios province in the 2022 Miss Ecuador contest, had been in Quevedo to attend a wedding on Saturday, local Ecuavisa reports.

Párraga, who has more than a million followers on her social media accounts as well as her own sportswear line, made headlines last December when her name was mentioned in a chat between slain drug trafficker Leandro Norero and his accountant, Helive Angulo.

One gunmen stood guard at the door while the other rushed in to shoot Párraga and the man she was eating.
One gunman stood guard at the door while the other rushed in to shoot Párraga and the man she was eating with.
Párraga was left motionless in a pool of her own blood.
Párraga was left motionless in a pool of her own blood.

During Angulo’s trial, prosecutors revealed that Norero had begged Angulo in a 2022 message to help keep his connection with the beauty queen hidden after the accountant said police asked him about the relationship, according to Ecuavisa.

“If my wife comes across anything about her, I’m screwed,” Norero wrote. “My friend, her name cannot come out anywhere. Otherwise, my world will come crashing down.”

Last December, Párraga was linked to drug trafficker Leandro Norero after the gang leader's accountant asked about their connection.
Last December, Párraga was linked to drug trafficker Leandro Norero after the gang leader’s accountant asked about their connection.
Párraga was never prosecuted for any crime relating to the drug lord, who was killed in prison in 2022.
Párraga was never prosecuted for any crime relating to the drug lord, who was killed in prison in 2022.

The gangster would go on to be killed in prison just six months into his incarceration.

While Párraga’s finances were under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office, she was never prosecuted for a crime and had never made any public comments on the case or her connection with Norero and his organization.

In her final Instagram post made at the beach on Wednesday, Párraga wrote: “The world is an echo, what you send into it, you get out of it.”

Authorities have recovered Párraga’s body and are currently investigating the murder.