President Guillermo Lasso of Ecuador reported that presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed by an unidentified assailant while attending a political gathering in Quito.
The murder on Wednesday occurred amid a shocking upsurge in violence in the South American country, where drug trafficking and homicides are on the rise.
Mr. Lasso claimed that his murder was the work of organized crime. Villavicencio was one of eight candidates in the presidential election on August 20, however, he was not the frontrunner.
“I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished. Organized crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law,” Mr Lasso said in a statement.
According to Ecuador’s attorney general’s office, a suspect in Villavicencio’s murder passed away from wounds after being taken into custody.
Videos posted on social media seem to show the candidate leaving the event escorted by security.
Villavicencio is then seen getting into a white truck, which is followed by a shooting. Patricio Zuquilanda, Villavicencio’s campaign adviser, corroborated this information, according to the Associated Press.
Before the shooting, the candidate, according to Mr. Zuquilanda, had received death threats, which he had reported to the police and led to one detention.
Invoking escalating violence and drug trafficking, he urged foreign authorities to act to stop the violence.
“The Ecuadorian people are crying and Ecuador is mortally wounded. Politics cannot lead to the death of any member of society,” he said.
Police declared the incident to be a terrorist act, revealed that several other people were hurt, including cops, and vowed to find out who killed the victim.
The 59-year-old lawmaker ran for office on behalf of the Build Ecuador Movement.
He was one of the most vocal opponents of corruption, particularly from 2007 to 2017 under the administration of former president Rafael Correa. He brought numerous legal complaints against high-ranking Correa government officials.
He was married and left behind five kids. Our condolences to his family and may his soul rest in peace.