Fernando Villavicencio, a Presidential Candidate for Ecuador, was Shot and Killed

At a gathering for the next presidential election in Ecuador, a candidate who ran on a platform against gangs and corruption was fatally shot.

As he was leaving the event in the nation’s capital, Quito, on Wednesday, Fernando Villavicencio, a member of the national assembly, was attacked.

He is one of the few candidates that has suggested a connection between organized crime and Ecuadorian government figures.

Los Lobos (The Wolves), a criminal organization, has taken responsibility.

With about 8,000 members, Los Lobos is the second-largest gang in Ecuador. Many of its members are imprisoned.

A spate of recent lethal prison brawls involving the gang resulted in the gruesome deaths of numerous prisoners.

Los Lobos, a split-off group from the Los Choneros gang, is thought to have connections to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a cocaine trafficking organization with roots in Mexico.

When Mr. Villavicencio was threatened by Los Choneros last week, suspicion for the murder initially fell on them. However, Los Lobos later claimed responsibility in a video in which gang members wearing balaclavas flashed gang signs and waved their weapons.

Historically, Ecuador has been a reasonably peaceful and stable nation in Latin America, but in recent years, violence has skyrocketed due to the growing influence of the Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, which have infiltrated local gangs.

The murder occurs less than a fortnight before presidential elections, in which security is a major worry.

Los Lobos, a split-off group from the Los Choneros gang, is thought to have connections to the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), a cocaine trafficking organization with roots in Mexico.

The murder occurs less than a fortnight before presidential elections, in which security is a major worry.

Ecuador: A primer

Where is Ecuador ?

It is the tiniest of the Andean countries in South America, located between Colombia and Peru on the equator (thus the name).

Who shot Mr. Villavicencio and why?

With a focus on tackling corruption, he was one of eight candidates running for the first round of the election. He and his team had received threats from the leader of a gang connected to drug trafficking.

What next?

The invasion of foreign drug gangs profiting from a rise in cocaine trafficking has wrecked Ecuador, a once-relatively calm country, and the problem will only become more crucial during the presidential election campaign.

The cartels move cocaine produced in neighboring Colombia and Peru to the US and Europe using Ecuador, which has a robust infrastructure and major ports.

Anyone they believe stands in their way has been threatened and targeted by them.

Former journalist and current legislator Fernando Villavicencio had criticized what he called the liberal treatment of the gangs and promised a crackdown if he were elected.

Despite not being in the lead and polling in the center of the pack, Mr. Villavicencio, a married father of five, was one of eight candidates in the first round of voting.

Not the first politician to be killed off, he. The mayor of the city of Manta was assassinated last month, and a Puerto López mayoral candidate was killed in February.

However, the most outrageous assault to date and alarming evidence of the gangs’ power is the shooting of a presidential contender at a public gathering in the nation’s capital.

According to eyewitnesses, Mr. Villavicencio was attacked while he was leaving a political gathering at around 18:20 (00:20 GMT).

The gathering was held in a structure that had once been a school in Quito’s business sector.

The 59-year-old was outside the building where he had been meeting voters when there was a flash of gunshots that could be heard.

Galo Valencia, Mr. Villavicencio’s uncle, stated that his family was only a short distance from the school when they were hit by a barrage of roughly 40 bullets, which is how his nephew was killed.

Mr. Valencia claimed that his nephew had taken three shots to the head.

Another witness, Carlos Figueroa, stated that “the shots started 30 seconds after he [Fernando Villavicencio] left through the main door.”

In-house video shows terrified spectators running for cover. Nine additional individuals were hurt in the commotion, including two police officers and a candidate for the national assembly, according to the prosecution.

In a gunfight with security, the suspect was also shot, and the country’s attorney general announced on social media that the victim eventually passed away from his wounds. Following operations in Quito, the police detained six people in relation to the assassination, they claimed.

The current president, Guillermo Lasso, has stated that the “crime will not go unpunished” and that a state of emergency has been imposed.

The assassination enraged and shocked Mr. Lasso, who will not be voting. He added: “Organised crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them.”

Luisa González, who is now leading in the polls, expressed her “solidarity” with Mr. Villavicencio’s family and promised that “this vile act will not go unpunished.”

Otto Sonnenholzner, a former vice president and fellow contender, likewise sent his “deepest condolences and deep solidarity” to Mr. Villavicencio’s family. He wrote, “May God keep him in his glory.” “Our nation has outgrown itself.”