The six suspects detained in the murder of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio are Colombian nationals, as is the man who died at the scene, Ecuadorian police sources told Efe on Thursday.
Ecuadorian authorities had so far reported that several men participated in the murder of Villavicencio, which also left at least nine injured, including three policemen.
A police source said the suspects are Colombian, as is the man who was wounded in a shootout and later died in an ambulance.
The Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stressed that it is waiting for official information on what happened.
This is not the first time that Colombian citizens have been involved in similar situations in other countries, since Colombian mercenaries were also responsible for the assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moise.
The Ecuadorian authorities have not confirmed whether those responsible belong to any of the organized crime gangs operating in Ecuador.
Villavicencio has pledged to fight these gangs and in recent weeks has reported death threats against them.
The president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, confirmed, through social networks, the presence of the FBI in his country and added that he asked the United States for the support of this federal investigative agency to clarify this crime.
The FBI’s involvement in the murder investigation is part of the close relationship the United States and Ecuador have built over the past two years, especially since Lasso came to power, with cooperation on a variety of issues, including security.
The Ecuadorian Armed Forces are already being deployed throughout the country, revealed the Minister of Defense, assuring that the military “will respond with all its force.”
“You have to understand that the mafias have declared war on Ecuador and that the State and the Armed Forces will respond with all their might to confront the murderers, their accomplices, those who finance them, those who protect them,” said Luis. Lara. , in statements to journalists.
Without detailing the specific number of troops deployed, Luis Lara stressed that there will be “the presence of the Armed Forces in each city and in each parish until the conclusion of the electoral process.”
After Villavicencio’s assassination, the government declared three days of national mourning and 60 days of a state of emergency.
Source: TSF
