A presidential candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming election who campaigned against gangs and corruption was fatally shot at a rally for his campaign.
On Wednesday, Fernando Villavicencio, a member of the country’s national assembly, was attacked as he left the event in the capital, Quito.
He is one of the few candidates who has claimed that organized crime in Ecuador has ties to top government figures.
The perpetrators have been identified as the criminal gang Los Lobos (The Wolves).
The second-largest gang in Ecuador, Los Lobos has about 8,000 members, many of whom are incarcerated.
A number of recent deadly prison brawls involving the gang resulted in the brutal deaths of numerous prisoners.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), which is based in Mexico and for which Los Lobos, a split-off faction of the Los Choneros gang, traffics cocaine, is thought to have connections to this group.
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.
In the past, Ecuador has been a relatively safe and stable country in Latin America, but crime has increased dramatically in recent years due to the growing influence of the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels, which have infiltrated local gangs.
The killing occurs less than a fortnight before presidential elections, in which the problem of insecurity is cited as the main concern.
Source-BBC
