Assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate: Less than two weeks before the vote, Fernando Villavicencio is shot dead as he leaves a political rally
- Fernando Villavicencio, 59, was shot in the head Wednesday night as he got into his car after a campaign rally in Quito
- Villavicencio, a member of Ecuador’s National Assembly before it was dissolved in May, was one of the frontrunners for the August 20 vote
- Analysts said the right-wing politician has cracked down hardest on the organized crime plaguing the Latin American nation
Gunmen shot dead presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador as he walked out of a rally on Wednesday night, less than two weeks before the hard-fought election.
Footage shared on social media showed Villavicencio, 59, being escorted out of the rally area and into a waiting car at 6:20 p.m. local time. He was just climbing into the back seat when shots rang out. The windows didn’t appear to be bulletproof.
Last week, Villavicencio, a former journalist, said he and his team were threatened by the leader of a gang linked to drug trafficking.
General Manuel Iniguez, deputy commander of the Ecuadorian National Police, said a police officer was also injured in the attack, which took place outside a college in northern Quito.
The killers fired a grenade at Villavicencio’s group, but it didn’t explode.
He was taken to a nearby clinic and pronounced dead at the hospital.
Villavicencio, a right-wing former member of Ecuador’s National Assembly before its dissolution in May, was 7.5 percent in the polls.
Trailing behind at least two other candidates, he had gained support in recent days and was seen as the toughest candidate in the fight against organized crime.
Fernando Villavicencio, 59, is seen just before gunmen ambushed him as he was leaving a rally and shot him in the head
Galo Valencia, Villavicencio’s uncle, confirmed that the politician was shot in the head.
“We were just yards from the college gates, and as we exited the college there was a barrage of 40 bullets,” he told El Comercio.
“Some people were injured, some maybe seriously, and unfortunately Fernando was shot in the head.”
“The medical team have just confirmed that he has passed away. It is an indescribable pain for the family.”
President Guillermo Lasso said the murder will not go unpunished.
“For his memory and his struggle, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” Lasso tweeted.
“Organized crime is very advanced, but the full burden of the law will fall on them.”
Lasso said he will invite senior security officials to an urgent meeting.