On Wednesday, a popular Ecuadoran presidential contender was shot dead as he left a rally in the nation’s capital, prompting President Guillermo Lasso to impose a state of emergency and blame the death on organized crime.
According to officials, Fernando Villavicencio, a 59-year-old anti-corruption activist who had complained of getting threats, was assassinated as he was leaving a Quito stadium after holding a campaign rally.
Following the assassination, Lasso declared a two-month state of emergency early Thursday, but said general elections set for August 20 would go ahead as planned.
“Outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio,” the president said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter, blaming the killing on “organized crime.”
“For his memory and for his fight, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished.”
Villavicencio was the second most popular candidate in the presidential race, according to recent opinion polls.
“The Armed Forces as of this moment are mobilized throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens, the tranquility of the country and the free and democratic elections of August 20,” Lasso said in a YouTube address.
The president also declared three days of national mourning “to honor the memory of a patriot, of Fernando Villavicencio Valencia.”
“This is a political crime that acquires a terrorist character and we do not doubt that this murder is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process,” he added.
Lasso has said he will not seek re-election.
Diana Atamaint, President of the National Electoral Council, stated that “the date of the elections scheduled for August 20 remains unalterable.”
Prosecutors claimed nine other individuals were hurt in the incident, including a candidate for the national legislature and two police officers.
Security forces shot and killed one of the accused attackers. According to chief investigator Alain Luna, authorities also detonated an explosive device concealed in the neighborhood.
Villavicencio’s buddy Carlos Figueroa, who was with him at the time of the incident, informed local media that the assailants fired roughly 30 rounds.
“They ambushed him outside” the sports center, Figueroa said. “Some (of those present) even thought they were fireworks.”
According to El Universo, the country’s primary newspaper, Villavicencio was slain “hitman-style and with three shots to the head.”
Prosecutors later stated that six other suspects were apprehended in raids conducted in southern Quito and a neighboring town, and that Villavicencio’s body was transferred to a police station for an examination.
‘Full weight of the law’
In recent years, Ecuador has been rocked by a surge of violence linked to drug trafficking, which has already resulted in the deaths of a mayor and a parliamentary candidate.
The homicide rate has doubled between 2021 and 2022.
“Organized crime has gone too far, but the full weight of the law will be applied to them,” Lasso said in his post.
Villavicencio, a former journalist who wrote about corruption and served in parliament, polled at 13%, trailing lawyer Luisa Gonzalez, who is connected to former left-wing president Rafael Correa.
Gonzalez and other presidential contenders condemned the murder and announced that they would pause their campaigns, according to local media.
“We will never allow such acts to go unpunished. When they touch one, they touch all. When one’s life is at risk, everyone’s life is at risk,” Gonzalez wrote on X.
National Court of Justice president Ivan Saquicela called Villavicencio’s murder “very painful for the country.”
“I am very hurt and very worried about Ecuador,” he said.
The United States, Spain, Chile and the Organization of American States observer mission have also condemned the crime.
“We are horrified by the tragic attack… Violence cannot win. Democracy can,” European Union ambassador to Ecuador Charles-Michel Geurts said on X.
As a journalist, Villavicencio uncovered a corruption scheme for which former president Correa (2007-2017) was sentenced to eight years in prison.
Villavicencio later served as president of the legislative oversight commission, where he continued to denounce corruption.
The politician had complained this month that he and his team were receiving threats allegedly coming from the leader of a criminal gang linked to drug trafficking.
“Despite the new threats, we will continue fighting for the brave people of our #Ecuador,” he posted on X at the time.
Atamaint, head of the electoral council, also said that several members of her organization, which is responsible for supervising the ballot, had received death threats.
President Lasso sent a message to Villavicencio’s family.
“My solidarity and my condolences with his wife and his daughters,” he said in his post.