At least three people have been killed in Ecuador as the government further ramps up its use of force against Indigenous-led protests triggered in part by crackdowns on environmentalists, according to civil society and human rights groups.

Two of the dead are Rosa Elena Paqui, 61, who went into cardiac arrest following the inhalation of tear gas, and José Alberto Guamán Izama, 30, who was shot in the chest, according to Ecuador’s largest Indigenous organization, Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE), and Ecuador’s Alliance for Human Rights. The two deaths follow the killing of Efraín Fueres, 46, who was gunned down while marching in an early-morning demonstration on Sept. 28.

The Ecuadorian Consulate in Washington, D.C., did not respond to requests for comment.

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