Ecuador arrests six Colombians as suspects in slaying of anti-corruption presidential candidate

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Ecuador arrests six Colombians as suspects in slaying of anti-corruption presidential candidate

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The six men arrested as suspects in the assassination of an anti-corruption Ecuadorian presidential candidate are Colombian nationals.

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Regina Garcia Cano

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Guillermo Lasso, a conservative former banker, won the 2021 presidential election but quickly clashed with the left-wing majority in the National Assembly. In May 2023, he dissolved the Assembly by decree to avoid impeachment over allegations of failing to intervene to stop a faulty contract between the state-owned oil transport company and a private tanker company.

Ecuadorian authorities have arrested six Colombian nationals in connection with the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio. The suspects were captured in a house in the capital city of Quito, and police seized weapons, grenades, and vehicles from the scene.

Since drug traffickers began using Ecuador's coastal ports, Ecuadorians have been rocked by violence unprecedented in decades.

A video of the rally in Quito posted on social media appears to show Villavicencio walking out of the event surrounded by guards. He then gets into a white pickup truck, after which gunshots are heard. People scream and run around the truck in commotion.

The involvement of Colombian nationals in the assassination of the Ecuadorian presidential candidate is reminiscent of the 2021 assassination of Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, who was killed by a group of gunmen that included 18 former Colombian soldiers.

Statement from Ecuador's attorney general's office said one of the suspects in the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio died in custody from injuries sustained during a shooting.

In July 2023, the mayor of the port city of Manta, Ecuador, was assassinated.

Fernando Villavicencio, the presidential candidate, had received at least three death threats and reported them to the authorities before he was shot. One person was detained as a result.

The police report does not specify whether the Colombian suspects are members of a criminal group. However, Ecuador’s interior minister, Juan Zapata Zapata stated that they are connected to organized crime, without providing further details.

Publish date

08

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10

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2023

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12

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The Associated Press

Topics

Assassination of Fernando Villavicencio

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https://apnews.com/article/ecuador-villavicencio-presidential-candidate-killed-ee9c726b82c09e16e5dacde2d6f005ff

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Gonzalo Solano

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Regina Garcia Cano

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In July 2023, the mayor of the port city of Manta, Ecuador, was assassinated.

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