Candidate of Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, has been shot dead at a campaign rally. Villavicencio was a member of the country’s national assembly who was known to rally against corruption and gangs.
He had left an event in the capital, Quito, on Wednesday when he was attacked. In his voice against corruption, he alleged links between organised crime and government officials in Ecuador.
Ecuador has declared a state of emergency after the assassination.
Although Ecuador has generally been a reasonably peaceful and stable nation in Latin America, the surge in violent crime in recent years, which is largely attributable to the expansion of drug gangs, has been a major talking point in this year’s presidential election.
Congressman and former journalist Villavicencio, according to witnesses, was shot three times.
The 59-year-old was getting into a car when a man moved forward and shot him in the head, a member of his campaign team informed local media.
Campaign flyers are scattered over a blood-stained floor and scared supporters can be seen running for safety in video taken inside the premises.
In a gunfight with security, the suspect was also shot, and the country’s attorney general announced on social media that the victim eventually passed away from his wounds.
Nine additional individuals were hurt in the commotion, including two police officers and a candidate for the national assembly, according to the prosecution. Following operations in Quito, the police detained six people in relation to the assassination, they claimed.
On August 20, the presidential election’s first round is slated to take place. Despite not being in the lead and polling in the centre of the pack, Villavicencio, a married father of five, was one of eight candidates in the first round of voting.
Along with security, Villavicencio’s campaign emphasised fighting corruption—a subject he had previously covered as a journalist—and lessening environmental damage.
He said last week that the boss of a group involved in narcotics trafficking had threatened him and his colleagues.
