Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed throughout a marketing campaign occasion in Quito on Wednesday, with officers suggesting “organized crime” might have been behind the assassination.
The taking pictures occurred because the 59-year-old politician ready to go away a political rally in Ecuador’s capital, along with his marketing campaign adviser Carlos Figueroa confirming his loss of life to native media, noting he had been shot within the head thrice.
President Guillermo Lasso commented on the taking pictures in a assertion shared to social media, saying he was “Outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.” He added that “organized crime has gone too far,” and stated the homicide can be solved.
Video footage captured the second taking pictures began as unknown assailants assassinated Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio at a political rally close to Quito #Ecuadorpic.twitter.com/uWX51YzQ7N
— CNW (@ConflictsW) August 10, 2023
Footage has circulated on-line purporting to indicate the second of the taking pictures, with greater than a dozen gunshots heard as safety guards escorted Villavicencio to a automobile following the rally in Quito. Figueroa stated the candidate had no very important indicators when he examined him instantly after the assault, and that he was declared useless at a close-by hospital.
In line with Ecuador’s lawyer common, an unnamed suspect within the taking pictures was arrested, however later died of accidents sustained throughout an “trade of bullets” with regulation enforcement. 9 others have been wounded in the course of the incident, together with two officers and a candidate for native workplace. Police described the taking pictures as an act of terrorism and vowed to launch a probe.
Not lengthy after the homicide, Villavicencio’s get together, Movimiento Construye, took to social media to say that “armed males” had attacked its marketing campaign workplace in Quito, however shared no additional particulars. In a separate assertion, the get together additionally demanded motion from the federal government, insisting Villavicencio’s loss of life should not go “unpunished.”
President Lasso famous that he referred to as an pressing assembly of high safety officers to debate the incident on Wednesday evening. He has beforehand denounced organized legal gangs and drug traffickers, blaming them for a current surge in violence throughout Ecuador, which has turn out to be a significant marketing campaign situation.
The assassination got here simply 10 days earlier than Ecuador’s subsequent presidential election, wherein Villavicencio was set to compete with seven different candidates. A former lawmaker and a vocal anti-corruption activist, he had been polling at 7.5% on the time of his loss of life, placing him in fifth place, in response to native media experiences.
Different candidates within the race have reacted to the slaying, with indigenous presidential hopeful Yaku Perez asserting that he had suspended his marketing campaign. One other candidate, Otto Sonnenholzner, urged officers to “act,” saying “we don’t need phrases… we’re dying,” feedback echoed by Social Christian Occasion contender Jan Subject, who additionally paused his marketing campaign.
