ECUADORIAN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE FERNANDO VILLAVICENCIO ASSASSINATED AT POLITICAL RALLY
Updated August 9, 2023 at 9:55 PM ET
QUITO, Ecuador — Fernando Villavicencio, an Ecuadorian presidential candidate known for his outspokenness against corruption, was shot and killed on Wednesday during a political rally in the capital city. The assassination comes amidst a wave of alarming violence in the country.
President Guillermo Lasso confirmed the tragic event and suggested that organized crime was responsible for Villavicencio’s slaying, which occurred less than two weeks before the scheduled presidential election on August 20.
In a statement, President Lasso vowed that the crime would not go unpunished, stating, “Organized crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law.”
Prior to the shooting, Villavicencio had reported receiving multiple death threats, including from leaders of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel, one of many international organized crime groups now operating in Ecuador.
Villavicencio, 59, was a candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement and one of eight candidates in the election. Although he was not the frontrunner, his assassination has sent shockwaves through the country.
The Ecuadorian attorney general’s office revealed that a suspect in the assassination died of injuries sustained during their arrest.
Ecuador, historically known for its calmness, has experienced a surge in violence over the past year as drug traffickers have flocked to the South American nation. This increase in drug trafficking has led to a concerning rise in violent killings, drug-related crimes, and the recruitment of children by criminal gangs.
Videos circulating on social media show Villavicencio leaving the event surrounded by security guards. The footage then captures him entering a white pickup truck before gunshots are heard, followed by screams and chaos around the vehicle. Patricio Zuquilanda, Villavicencio’s campaign adviser, confirmed the sequence of events.
Zuquilanda revealed that the candidate had reported at least three death threats to the authorities, resulting in one arrest. He called on international authorities to take action against the escalating violence, attributing it to the rise in drug trafficking and overall violence in the country.
Villavicencio was known as one of the most vocal critics of corruption, particularly during the government of President Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017. He filed numerous legal complaints against high-ranking members of the Correa government, including the former president himself.
Edison Romo, a former military intelligence colonel, stated that these complaints made Villavicencio “a threat to international criminal organizations.”
Authorities confirmed that at least nine other individuals, including police officers and a congressional candidate, were injured in the incident. They have classified the attack as a terrorist act and are determined to uncover the truth behind the assassination.
The killing has sparked outrage among other candidates, with presidential frontrunner Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution party declaring, “When they touch one of us, they touch all of us.”
Former vice president and candidate Otto Sonnenholzner demanded immediate action during a news conference, stating, “We are dying, drowning in a sea of tears, and we do not deserve to live like this. We demand that you do something.”
Fernando Villavicencio leaves behind a wife and five children.
Original Source: NPR
Original Story at www.michiganradio.org – 2023-08-10 01:25:00
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