During the early hours of this Thursday, the candidate for the presidency of Ecuador Fernando Villavicencio He has been assassinated in the middle of the street after being shot several times in events that have left nine people injured.
After the events, the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, has decreed the state of exception in the country for 60 days. Within ten days, specifically on August 20, an election will take place in which Villavicencio started as the fourth favorite according to the polls.
This attack evidences the serious crisis of violence suffered by Ecuador, which in 2022 registered the highest rate of violent deaths in its history, the vast majority associated, according to the Government, to organized crime and drug trafficking. This is all that is known about the murder of Villavicencio.
Who was Fernando Villavicencio?
Journalist by profession, Fernando Villavicencio He was the candidate of Movimiento Construye for the general elections that will take place on Sunday, August 20. One of the strengths of his program was the fight against corruption and organized crime mafias, which placed him as the fourth favorite according to the polls, led by Luisa González.
the murder
After 6:00 p.m., Villavicencio, who was leaving to participate in a meeting at a school in Quito, was shot dead by a group of hitmen when he got into his vehicle to leave the place. The author of the events fired a burst of shots that hit the candidate.
During these events, other nine people have been injured. In addition, the alleged perpetrator was killed by members of the security who were on the scene.
Among the nine injured, there is a candidate for assembly and two police officers. The perpetrators of the attack also They threw a grenade that did not detonate. and that the Police blew it up in a controlled manner.
The response to the attack: six detainees and a state of emergency
after what happened, six people have been arrested for his alleged involvement with the attack, as announced by the Prosecutor’s Office. The arrests have occurred after searches in two neighborhoods of Quito.
The President of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, has decreed the state of exception for 60 days in the country, which implies the deployment of the military throughout the national territory.
Death threats against Villavicencio
Villavicencio had previously denounced being the victim of death threats against him. “I’m not afraid of them“, defended the candidate, who recalled his fight for 20 years against organized crime.
“They told me to wear a bulletproof vest. Here I am, a sweaty shirt. You are my bulletproof vest. I don’t need it; you are from a brave people, and I am brave like you,” he repeated in an act, where he said: “Let the drug lords come, come. let the hitmen come. The time for threats is over.”
In addition, he pointed out specific threats from ‘Fito’, leader of the Los Choneros cartel: “A Manabí leader received a visit from several emissaries of alias ‘Fito’ to tell him that if I keep mentioning the name of ‘Fito’ and Los Choneros , they are going to break me. My decision was to continue with the electoral campaign and yesterday another threat occurred, two threats, from a telephone whose code is domiciled in Indonesia and which The profile has the photo of ‘Fito’“.
Elections in ten days
On Sunday August 20, Ecuador faces some general elections that they will be held on that date, as Lasso has defended after the murder of Villavicencio. The elections were called by a Lasso who warned of the “serious internal and political commotion” that the country claimed to be experiencing.
Lasso used what is called “cross death” to dissolve the National Assemblya legal figure that is adopted to avoid a motion of censure that would have led, foreseeably, to his dismissal as Head of State, after being accused of an alleged crime of embezzlement.
Violence problem in Ecuador
Ecuador lives a security and violence problem that lives on a daily basis with news of murders, extortions or violent acts that have increased in the last two years. In 2022, the country closed with the highest rate of violent deaths in its history (25.32 per 100,000 inhabitants), the vast majority associated with organized crime and drug trafficking, according to the Government.
These mafias have gained a presence on the coast, being one of the main outlets for cocaine that reaches Europe and North America.
the other candidates
In addition to Villavicencio, the other candidates for the presidential elections are Yaku Pérez, Luisa González, Jan Topic, Otto Sonnenholzner, Daniel Hervas, Daniel Noboa and Bolívar Armijos. Of all of them, she is the candidate supported by former president Rafael Correa, Luisa Gonzalezwho leads the polls.
Source: Lasexta
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