The US offers $5 million after the murder of Villavicencio

State Department of NOW announced this Thursday the award to 5 million dollars for information leading to the capture of the ringleaders responsible for the assassination of the Ecuadorian candidate Fernando Villavicenciolast August during the campaign in Quito.

He offered up to million dollars for information leading to the identification of high-ranking members of the criminal group responsible for the candidate’s murder.

He FBI assists Quito in the assassination investigation after he is arrested by the Ecuadorian authorities six Colombians who are suspected of being part of an organized criminal group.

“The United States will continue to support the people of Ecuador and work to bring to justice individuals who seek to undermine democratic processes through violent crime,” the US secretary of state said in a statement. Anthony Blinken.

Data, which can be anonymous, must be sent to e-mail [email protected] or by phone (in Ecuador) at 131.

Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist who has been highly critical of organized crime, reported days before his death threats José Adolfo Macías Villamar, alias “Fito”identified as a leader Chonerosa group linked to a Mexican cartel Sinaloa.

The presidential candidate was killed after a political rally in early August. Soon after, Ecuadorian authorities arrested six Colombian nationals suspected of the attack.

For now, Washington, which immediately offered Quito help to investigate what happened, has shown caution and has not attributed responsibility for the assassination to any particular group.

In its statement Thursday, the State Department said simply that the investigation “continues to identify others involved in the killing.”