The scene of the assassination and the sound of gunfire have now circulated for 48 hours on social media. Eleven days before the Ecuadorian early general elections (presidential and legislative), which will still take place as scheduled on Sunday, 20 August, the assassination of one of the eight presidential candidates has left the country in shock. Fernando Villavicencio, 59, was killed late afternoon on Wednesday, 9 August as he left a campaign event.
The centrist candidate was shot three times in the head as he climbed into an unarmored car surrounded by bodyguards, police and supporters. Police say they found 61 shell casings at the scene of the attack. Those close to Villavicencio have denounced the failings of his security service.
A member of parliament, two policemen and six other people were also wounded by the gunfire. One of them died on Thursday as a result of their injuries. According to the authorities, the alleged killer, who was wounded by the police, died in custody shortly after the attack. Six "foreign" individuals were also apprehended, all Colombian. Villavicencio's assassination could have repercussions in the neighboring country. Authorities have alluded to the involvement of "organized criminal groups."
On Thursday, Ecuador’s outgoing president Guillermo Lasso (right) announced a three-day national mourning period and declared a two-month nationwide state of emergency. "The armed forces are currently mobilized throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens and the tranquility of the country as well as free and fair democratic elections. [...] This is a political crime of a terrorist nature, and we have no doubt that this assassination is an attempt to sabotage the electoral process" the president said.
This is the 13th state of emergency declared by the head of state, who has been in power for just over two years. Highly discredited in public opinion, Lasso decided in May to dissolve parliament, which wanted to try him for embezzlement and impeach him, preferring instead to shorten his own term of office. He is not standing for re-election.
The vote on August 20 has been maintained and will be held in an extremely tense climate. The Villavicencio assassination has further confirmed the seriousness of the security crisis facing the small Andean country. Wedged between two major cocaine producers, Colombia and Peru, Ecuador has become the scene of bloody rivalries between drug cartels. Social exclusion and corruption are fueling an explosion in crime that has seen the number of homicides quadruple in five years.
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