UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has appointed the Ecuadorian maria isabella savior as a special representative in Haiti, plunged into a deep economic and security crisis, the organization announced on Wednesday.

The current Director of Foreign Relations at the University of the Americas in Ecuador, since 2015, replaces the American Helen Meagher La Lime, in office since October 2019.

In addition, according to a UN statement, he will lead the United Nations Integrated Office in Haiti.

Salvador has more than 25 years of experience in management, consulting, politics and diplomacy. She was Minister of Foreign Affairs (2007-2008) and Tourism (2005-2007) during the government of Rafael Correa.

Haiti is going through a deep economic and social crisis, exacerbated by the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise and the expansion of armed gangs, which dictate their laws in more than half of Haitian territory and feed mainly on the kidnapping and extortion industry.

These criminal groups demand tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars from the families of their victims, who are often sexually assaulted in captivity.

In 2022, the UN recorded 1,359 kidnappings and more than 2,000 deaths in Haiti, a third more than the previous year.