Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed this Wednesday, shot by unknown persons as he left a campaign rally in a central area of the capital Quito, the government said.
⚠️ | URGENT: Video of the horrific moment when Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated yesterday.
A journalist by trade, he built his political career on a series of corruption allegations against former President Rafael Correa.
— Dan (@DanVitorPH) August 10, 2023
Interior Minister Juan Zapata assured that the attack was carried out by assassins. At least nine people were injured. The suspect in the attack died after a shootout with security, according to authorities.
After the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, Ecuador’s president, conservative Guillermo Lasso, declared a state of emergency in the country for 60 days on Wednesday evening.
In a message to the nation following a meeting of the state security cabinet, Lasso said the date of the extraordinary general election, scheduled for August 20, will be kept, but military personnel will be deployed across the country to ensure voter safety.
It is heartbreaking that right-wing candidate Fernando Villavicencio is taken to hospital with gunshot wounds to the head as his life ebbs away…
The modus operandi of the Latin American left is the same. Eliminate all your opponents.
It is worth remembering that in… pic.twitter.com/gjHgWu5jjR
– Maria P (@damadanoite14) August 10, 2023
At least nine people were injured in the attack that killed Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last Wednesday, authorities said, including the suspect in the attack after a shootout with guards.
The injured include a deputy candidate and two police officers, informed the Public Prosecution Service, which, together with the police, is collecting evidence at the crime scene and at the medical center where the victims were transported.
Authorities reported that six people have been arrested.
The attack took place at a rally held by Villavicencio in a coliseum in a central and busy neighborhood of Quito, where an unknown gunman fired at the candidate to occupy Ecuador’s presidential seat in the extraordinary general election scheduled for 20 August.
The other presidential candidates expressed their displeasure and outrage at the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio and announced the cessation of campaign activities.
A few minutes after confirming the death of the journalist and former deputy, Ecuador’s president, the conservative Guillermo Lasso, also expressed his displeasure at Villavicencio’s murder and promised that the crime will not go unpunished.
“Outraged and appalled by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. My solidarity and condolences to his wife and daughters. For his memory and for his struggle, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” Lasso wrote on social networks.
Outraged and appalled by the asesinato of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. My solidarity and condolences to your wife and children. For his memory and for his struggle, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished.
The Security Cabinet meets in…
— Guillermo Lasso (@LassoGuillermo) August 10, 2023
“Organized crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law will fall on it,” declared the head of state, during whose mandate the country’s biggest insecurity crisis has exploded due to the proliferation and violent actions of groups with ties to international drug mafia, authorities said.
Villavicencio, identified as a critic of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), traveled with police protection despite threats he had received weeks earlier.
Mexico, Honduras, Colombia and Spain were the first countries to condemn the attack.
Source: DN
