Assassinated presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio

Candidate for President of Ecuador Fernando Villavicencio was killed this Wednesday after unknown persons shot him at the exit of his campaign rally in the central part of the city Quitoas confirmed by the Ecuadorian government.

Minister of Interior, Juan Zapatahe confirmed the information and assured that the attack was carried out by killers who also injured other people.

The authorities have not yet released official information or further details about the event that took place in the late afternoon on the outskirts of the coliseum where Villavicencio gathered supporters as part of his election campaign ahead of next year’s elections. August 20.

Villavicencio, identified as a harsh critic of the former president Rafael Correa (2007-2017), mobilized with police protection against the threats he received weeks before.

According to information from the local media, special forces investigated the possibility of placing an explosive device in the coliseum of the educational unit where the candidate proselytized.

Villavicencio’s murder occurred at a time when the country is experiencing an escalation of violence due to the activities of criminal groups.

More information is reproduced every day murders, massacres, extortion, explosive attacksamong other crimes, which have sowed terror among Ecuadorians who have been suffering from this type of violent acts for more than two years.

Ecuador ended 2022 with the highest rate of violent deaths in its history, registering 25.32 per 100,000 inhabitantsthe vast majority are linked, according to the government, to organized crime and drug trafficking, which has grown stronger on the coast and turned the ports into major stepping stones for cocaine arriving in Europe and North America.

It is precisely the fight against crime that is one of the main promises of the candidates aspiring to succeed the conservative in the presidential elections. William Lasso in the extraordinary general elections announced for next Sunday, August 20.

Apart from Villavicencio, they also applied for the presidential elections environmentalist Yaku Pérez, koreísta Luisa González, security expert Jan Topic, former vice president Otto Sonnenholzner, politician Daniel Hervas, businessman Daniel Noboa and independent Bolívar Armijos.