The six people arrested in Ecuador for his alleged involvement in the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio are part of a organized group and they have Colombian nationalityaccording to the latest data provided by the Government, which has promised to continue working to purge both material and intellectual responsibility for a crime that has put the South American country in mourning just over a week before the elections.

Two of the detainees had been seen at the scene of the attack, which occurred on Wednesday after an electoral rally in Quito and in front of around a hundred people. The shooting also resulted in nine injuries, including three members of the security team responsible for guarding Villavicencio, although the general commander of the Police, Fausto Salinas, has clarified that their lives are not in danger.

Yes, one of the suspects has died, after being hit in an exchange of fire with the security forces in a pursuit. This man had already been arrested last June, accused of possession of weapons, reports the Ecuadorian newspaper ‘El Universal’.

The six detainees are in preventive detention ordered by a judge late on Thursday and will last 30 days. Initially, the Minister of the Interior of Ecuador, Juan Zapatahad limited himself to pointing out in a press conference that the six detainees were foreigners, without specifying their nationality, although he did identify them as Andrés M. José L., Adey G., Camilo R., Jules C. and John R.

The arrests of this group identified by the Police as of Colombian nationality occurred during the night of the same Wednesday, in a series of searches carried out in homes in two neighborhoods of the Ecuadorian capital, where various weapons were found such as a rifle, a submachine gun, four pistols and three grenades.

In Zapata’s opinion, this crime, which he has described as “terrorist”, is “an attempt to sabotage the next elections”, which are still pending, waiting for Villavicencio’s party, Movimiento Construye, to determine if it fills its gap. .

The President of Ecuador, William Lassoha decreed the state of exception throughout the country for 60 days, expanding the powers of the main security forces, including the Army. The Defense Minister, Luis Lara, has also appeared before the media to underline that “the Armed Forces will provide security for the elections to be held” and to promise a “firm hand”.

“The vote is the answer to the mafias,” Lara said, accompanied by the main military commanders. The minister believes thatthese mafias “they have declared war on Ecuador,” for which they have called to persecute not only their members but also “those who finance them and those who protect them.”