Villavicencio’s wife: They killed him because he confronted the mafia

Veronika Sarauzwife of the presidential candidate Fernando Villavicenciowho was killed by alleged assassins on Wednesday afternoon as he was leaving a campaign rally, believes that he was killed because he dealt with political mafias and drug dealers.

“My husband was killed because he was the only one who stood up to the political mafia and drug dealers in this country,” she wrote on her Twitter account on Thursday. Twitterthe day after the attack in which the candidate was killed.

Shot at an unknown person Villavicencio On Wednesday afternoon, when he was leaving the premises of a school, where he was finishing a meeting on the occasion of next year’s extraordinary general elections. August 20.

Ecuadorians will go to the polls after the head of state, William Lassodissolved last May National Assembly (Parliament)with the opposition majority, at a time when a debate and vote was being prepared on his possible removal due to alleged embezzlement (embezzlement), a charge which the ruler rejected.

When dissolving the parliament, Lasso applied the so-called “crucifixion”, considered in Constitutionand forced the calling of extraordinary elections to determine who will finish the period for which he was elected, i.e. until May 2025.

Immediately after Lasso’s decision, Villavicencio, who was part of the dissolved National Assembly, expressed his joy as he questioned the quality of the legislator.

RESEARCH

Delegation from FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) from the United States will arrive in Ecuador in the next few hours to support the investigation into the Villavicencio murder.

President Lasso confirmed the arrival of the FBI in Ecuador this Thursday on social networks, indicating that he had asked Washington for the support of the federal investigative agency to shed light on this crime.

After the murder of Villavicencio became known, the United States Government offered the Ecuadorian executive “immediate investigative assistance” through its ambassador in Quito, Michael J Fitzpatrick.

This FBI involvement in the murder investigation is part of the close relationship that the US and Ecuador have built over the past two years, especially since Lasso came to power, by cooperating on various matters, including security.

So far, authorities have reported an arrest six Colombianssuspected of having participated in the attack in which nine people were injured.

Another suspect died after being wounded in an exchange of gunfire that the attackers had with security guards protecting the candidate.

Minister of Internal Affairs, Juan Zapatahe indicated that “according to the collected preliminary information, it is confirmed that the arrestees belong to organized criminal groups”.

The killing of Villavicencio, who had vowed to fight the gangs head-on and condemned death threats against him in recent weeks, shocked the country, amid an election campaign that has revolved almost exclusively around the security crisis plaguing Ecuador.