Six arrested after killing of presidential candidate in Ecuador
Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead in the middle of the Ecuadorian election campaign and several people were arrested.
A state of emergency has been declared in the country.
President Guillermo Lasso has declared a state of emergency for the country after the fatal shooting of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador. The measure will apply for 60 days, he announced in a TV speech after a meeting of his security cabinet on Thursday night.
He also ordered the nationwide mobilization of the armed forces to protect citizens and the electoral process. The presidential election on August 20 should therefore take place as planned.
Lasso called the murder of candidate Fernando Villavicencio a political crime with terrorist traits. “We have no doubt that this murder is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process,” he said. The state will not yield to violence. He also ordered three days of national mourning. “Organized crime has gone too far. It will be punished to the fullest extent of the law,” Lasso wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
Villavicencio was killed on Wednesday after a campaign rally in the capital, Quito. Unknowns fired at the 59-year-old as he got into a car, local media reported. A suspect was arrested on site with serious injuries in the exchange of fire and died on the way to a hospital, the prosecutor said. According to Lasso, six people were arrested.
The journalist, centrist and former MP Villavicencio, who fought against corruption in the country, was one of eight candidates for the snap presidential election. According to opinion polls, Villavicencio was last at 7.5 percent of the vote. Earlier this month, Villavicencio said he and his team had received threats.
After impeachment proceedings were initiated against incumbent President Lasso in May, he dissolved parliament and called new elections. Since then, Lasso has governed by decree, and in June he announced that he no longer wanted to run in the elections.
Ecuador is in a serious political crisis. The approval ratings for government and parliament are very low. The once peaceful country is also currently suffering from a wave of violence. The government blames drug dealers in particular for this.
