Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate who stood up against corruption and criminal groups, was killed during the pre-election event, writes the British media BBC.
The attack on Villavicencio, who was also a member of the national assembly, took place on Wednesday, the 9th of August, when he was leaving the venue of the primary election event in the capital, Quito. He was one of the few candidates to point out the connection between organized crime and public officials. A gang calling itself Los Lobos claimed responsibility for the murder. It is the second largest criminal group in Ecuador and unites around eight thousand members, many of whom are in prison.
The gang has been involved in several recent deadly prison riots in which many inmates have been brutally killed. Los Lobos are believed to be linked to Mexico’s Jalisco New Generation cartel (CJNG), with whom they organize cocaine smuggling.
Ecuador is considered a relatively safe and stable Latin American country,
however, in recent years, the level of crime has increased, which is influenced by the presence of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels in the country.
The murder took place just two weeks before the planned Ecuadorian presidential elections. Villavicencio, a congressman and former journalist, was one of eight candidates and focused on fighting corruption, and as a result both he and his team received threats from gang leaders.
Villavicencio is not the first politician to be killed in Ecuador.
In July, the mayor of Manta was shot, and in February, a candidate for mayor of Puerto López was killed. However, the killing of a presidential candidate during an event in the nation’s capital is one of the most shocking attacks to date and a shocking testament to the power of gangs. The event took place in the financial district of Quito, in a building that once housed a school. At the moment when the 59-year-old politician was getting in the car, the shooting started.
#BREAKING ‼️⚡️ Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio ASSASSINATED during a campaign event pic.twitter.com/z1jp9XDEPi
— What the media hides. (@narrative_hole) August 10, 2023
The politician’s uncle said that about 40 bullets were fired at Villavicencio, a few meters from the building. Three of them hit the politician in the head.
At least nine other people were injured in the chaos that erupted after the shooting. The security services also shot the attacker, who died of his injuries in the hospital. Six persons have been arrested in connection with the murder.
Ecuador has declared a state of emergency, and the country’s president, Guillermo Lasso, has announced that the crime will not go unpunished. Other candidates have expressed their condolences to the family of the murdered politician, and have also pledged to punish the perpetrators.