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DE RUEHQT #0363 0442307
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O 132307Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY QUITO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6310
INFO RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA PRIORITY 6431
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 2361
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB 0408
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 1401
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 1869
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS QUITO 000363 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/IWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL EC
SUBJECT: ECUADOR'S NOMINEE, INTERNATIONAL WOMEN OF COURAGE 
 
REF: STATE 12871 
 
¶1.  Summary.  In response to RefTel request, Mission Ecuador 
nominates Lucy Blacio, El Oro province's prosecutor for sex 
crimes and trafficking in persons (TIP), as an International 
Woman of Courage.  Blacio has courageously worked to gain 
Ecuador's first convictions under Ecuador's new anti-TIP law. 
 Her efforts, including speaking out on TIP and sex crimes 
against minors and women, have drawn death threats; she is 
under 24-hour police protection.  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Biographical information: 
 
Name: Lucy Elena Blacio Pereira 
Title: Prosecutor (agente fiscal) 
Institution: Public Ministry, El Oro Province 
Address: 9 de Octubre, Edif. Reina Pacha, Machala, El Oro 
Telephone: 593-07-293-6295, cel. 099792005 
 
¶3.  Justification: 
 
Ecuador's Attorney General named Lucy Blacio the TIP 
prosecutor for El Oro province in February, 2006.  As one of 
just three such special prosecutors appointed nationwide, 
Blacio's job was to enforce anti-TIP legislation that entered 
into force in June, 2005.  Since her designation as TIP 
prosecutor, she has initiated investigation or prosecution of 
over 30 TIP cases, and has already won two convictions under 
Ecuador's anti-TIP law passed in June 2005.  One defendant 
received 12 years in prison for the forced prostitution of 
two underage girls.  The El Oro court sentenced another 
defendant to 12 years in prison for the production of child 
pornography.  These are the first TIP convictions under the 
new law; Blacio has set the pace for her colleagues, who are 
striving to emulate her results. 
 
In addition to her prosecutorial success, Blacio speaks out 
regularly on the need to prosecute TIP and sex crimes.  For 
example, in 2005 she publicly criticized the Ecuadorian 
Ministry of Education for attempting to resolve "internally" 
the skyrocketing sexual abuse and assault claims in El Oro 
secondary schools, calling for full investigation and 
prosecution of all complaints.  By publicizing TIP arrests, 
which often occur in legal brothels, Blacio has raised the 
profile and awareness of TIP as a crime; in a country where 
prostitution is legal and sex and TIP crimes have only 
recently begun to be vigorously pursued, her actions have 
also drawn death threats. 
 
Lucy Blacio is fast emerging as one of the most courageous 
women in Ecuador for her efforts.  She is not entrenched in 
the political elite, does not have a decades-long career, and 
does not hail from Guayaquil or Quito.  But she has found her 
niche as a hard working and honest prosecutor, setting an 
example, getting results, and protecting women and children 
in Ecuador from predators. 
 
¶4.  Point of Contact: 
 
Erik Martini 
Political Section 
Embassy Quito 
martinie@state.gov 
593-2-256-2890 
IVG 644 - 4424 
JEWELL