Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was tragically killed during a campaign rally less than two weeks before the upcoming election.
Local police say that the gunmen shot Villavicencio to death.
Ecuador Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio Shot to Death
Former Assembly member and now presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, speaks to journalists upon his arrival at the Attorney General's Office in Quito on August 8, 2023.
The campaign rally, meant to be a platform for Villavicencio to share his vision for a brighter Ecuador, turned into a scene of horror and chaos.
As per the Washington Post, local authorities confirmed that a group of gunmen assassinated Villavicencio at a campaign event on Wednesday, August 9, two more weeks before Ecuadorians head to the polls.
The Ecuadorian president Guillermo Lasso confirmed Villavicencio's death on social media. In a recent post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Lasso says he is "outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio." He also took the chance to send his condolences to the bereaved family of the former Assembly member.
It is worth noting that Villavicencio was a former National Assembly member before it disbanded last May.
The Ecuadorian national police deputy commander General Manuel Iñiguez disclosed that the gunmen shot Villavicencio several times. According to BBC News, witnesses say the suspects shot him three times.
Meanwhile, Aljazeera notes that social media videos show the former legislator walking out of the campaign event alongside his security detail. The presidential candidate then goes inside a white truck. However, gunshots echoed the tragic scene.
Photos inside the campaign venue show people crouching on the floor upon hearing the gunfire. The authorities still went on to rush the former Assembly member to a nearby health facility. However, the doctors pronounced him dead at 59 years old.
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The Rise of Violence in Ecuador
A woman is assisted after being wounded after shots were fired at the end of a rally of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito, on August 9, 2023. Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead after holding a rally in Quito on Wednesday evening, local media reported, citing Interior Minister Juan Zapata. Mr. Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist, was one of eight candidates in the August 20 presidential election.
Villavicencio's death has cast a spotlight on the current political climate in Ecuador, where tensions have been escalating in the lead-up to the presidential elections. Local media reports that the fatal incident injured several other people at the venue.
President Lasso says, "Organized crime has gone very far, but all the weight of the law will fall on them." He further assured that the assailant for Villavicencio's death would be punished.
BBC notes that this year's presidential campaign heavily tackled the rampancy of drug cartels in the country, causing a significant uptick in violent crime. The Ecuador president recently announced night curfews and states of emergency encompassing three provinces following the widespread killings.
Villavicencio's campaign adviser, Patricio Zuquilanda, revealed that the former Assembly member received death threats and reported it to the authorities.
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