Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed by an unidentified gunman whereas at a political rally within the nation’s capital of Quito, President Guillermo Lasso stated
Police guard the hospital the place a number of of the injured have been taken after an assault in opposition to presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Aug. 9, 2023. Villavicencio was killed as he entered a car after a marketing campaign rally, outdoors a college in Quito. (AP Picture/Juan Diego Montenegro)
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QUITO — Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed Wednesday by an unidentified gunman whereas at a political rally within the nation’s capital of Quito, President Guillermo Lasso stated.
The killing comes amid a startling wave of violence within the South American nation, with drug trafficking and violent killings on the rise.
“I guarantee you that this crime is not going to go unpunished,” Lasso stated in a press release. “Organized crime has gone too far, however they are going to really feel the total weight of the legislation.”
Movies on social media seem to point out the candidate strolling out of the occasion surrounded by guards. The video then reveals Villavicencio getting into a white truck adopted by gunfire.
The politician, 59, was the candidate for the Construct Ecuador Motion. He was one in every of eight presidential candidates for the late August election.
He was one of the crucial voices in opposition to corruption, particularly throughout the federal government of former President Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017. He filed many judicial complaints in opposition to excessive rating members of the Correa authorities.
Early accounts present that a number of others have been injured within the assault, although authorities didn’t affirm what number of.
He was married and is survived by 5 youngsters.