Presidential Candidate Villavicencio Assassinated in Ecuador
A candidate in the upcoming presidential election in Ecuador who ran against corruption and criminals was shot and killed at a campaign rally.
Wednesday, a member of the country’s national assembly, Fernando Villavicencio, was attacked as he exited an event in the capital, Quito.
He is one of the few candidates in Ecuador who has alleged connections between organized crime and government officials.
Following the assassination, a state of emergency has been declared.
Historically, Ecuador has been a relatively secure and stable country in Latin America; however, a recent rise in violent crime, fueled by the increasing presence of drug cartels, has been a central issue in this year’s presidential campaign.
According to witnesses, congressman and former journalist Mr. Villavicencio was shot three times.
A member of his campaign staff told local media that the 59-year-old was entering a vehicle when he was wounded in the head.
Inside the building, a video captures terrified supporters scrambling for cover and campaign literature strewn across a blood-stained floor.
In an exchange of gunfire with security, the suspect was also shot and subsequently succumbed to his wounds, the country’s attorney general stated on social media.
Nine other persons, including a candidate for the country’s assembly and two police officers, were injured in the chaos, according to prosecutors.
After conducting investigations in Quito, police have detained six individuals in connection with the assassination, they added.
On August 20, the first round of the presidential election will take place.
Mr. Villavicencio, who was married and had five children, was one of eight candidates in the first round of the election, despite not being the frontrunner and polling in the middle of the field.
In addition to security, Mr. Villavicencio’s campaign centered on combating corruption, a subject he covered as a journalist, and reducing environmental devastation.
The previous week, he reported that he and his team had been threatened by the leader of a gang with ties to narcotics trafficking.
Ecuador: fundamentals
Where is Ecuador located?
It is the tiniest of the South American Andean nations, situated on the equator (hence the name) between Colombia and Peru.
Why did Mr. Villavicencio receive a gunshot wound?
In the first round of the election, he was one of eight candidates with an emphasis on fighting corruption, and he and his team had been threatened by the commander of a gang involved in drug trafficking.
What then?
Once a relatively peaceful nation, Ecuador has been ravaged by the advent of international drug cartels profiting from a cocaine production boom, and the issue will only grow in importance during the upcoming presidential election.
Ecuador, situated between the world’s two largest cocaine-producing countries – Colombia to the north and Peru to the south – has been used as a transit country to smuggle the illegal substance to lucrative markets in North America and Europe.
The cartels have infiltrated local street and prison gangs, unleashing a surge of violence in the port cities and Pacific coast of Ecuador as they vie for control of strategic areas to load tons of cocaine onto ships and smaller vessels.
The assassination of Mr. Villavicencio follows other high-profile political violence, including the murders of Agustn Intriago, mayor of the city of Manta, in July and Omar Menéndez, a mayoral candidate in the city of Puerto López, in February.
Current President Guillermo Lasso pledged that the perpetrators of the crime would be punished.
Mr. Lasso, who will not be on the ballot, stated that he was “outraged and shocked” by the murder and added, “Organised crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them.”
In response to a series of homicides attributed to organized crime, Mr. Lasso declared states of emergency and nighttime curfews in three provinces last month.
Movimiento Construye, Mr. Villavicencio’s party, shared a comment he made on social media in response to demands to suspend the presidential campaign in the wake of Mr. Intriago’s death.
“Hiding in moments when criminals assassinate citizens and officials is an act of cowardice,” he wrote.
Otto Sonnenholzner, a former vice president and fellow candidate, extended his “deepest condolences and profound solidarity” to Mr. Villavicencio’s family.
“May God keep him in his glory,” he wrote. Our nation is out of control.
Luisa Gonzales, the frontrunner, extended her “solidarity” to Mr. Villavicencio’s family and added, “This vile act will not go unpunished.”
Presidential Candidate Villavicencio Assassinated in Ecuador
