Ecuador assures that the six arrested for assassinating Fernando Villavicencio are Colombians

The Ecuadorian Police points to a group of Colombians as the alleged perpetrators of the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. He died yesterday after being shot dead at the exit of an electoral rally in Quito.

According to police sources, the six arrested on suspicion of committing the crime and a seventh who died as a result of crossfire with the police have Colombian nationality.

Initially, the Ecuadorian Interior Minister, Juan Zapata, had limited himself to pointing out at a press conference that the six detainees were foreigners, without specifying their nationality, although he did identify them as Andrés M.. José L., Adey G., Camilo R., Jules C.. and JohnR.

The arrests occurred after a series of searches in homes in two neighborhoods of the Ecuadorian capital, where various weapons were found such as a rifle, a submachine gun, four pistols and three grenades.. Late on Thursday, a judge ordered the provisional detention of the six suspects.

To reinforce the investigation and clarify the crime, a delegation from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) will arrive in Ecuador in the next few hours, at the request of the country's president, the conservative Guillermo Lasso, after the US ambassador to Quito offered him “urgent investigative assistance.”

viral terror

While the arrests were being made, a video of unknown origin was going viral on social networks showing a large group of heavily armed, hooded men who declared themselves members of the criminal gang “Los Lobos” and who claimed responsibility for the murder of Villavicencio and They threatened another candidate: Jan Topic.

This was answered by another video, also viral and of unknown origin, where another group of men, dressed in white and with their faces uncovered, claimed in the same way to be members of “Los Lobos” and denied the attack on Villavicencio.

“Los Lobos” is one of the largest criminal gangs operating in Ecuador and the cause, along with others such as “Los Tiguerones” or “Los Choneros”, of the security crisis and the rise of violence, since according to the Government they are behind of the increase in intentional homicides that led the country to register a rate of 25.32 per 100,000 inhabitants in 2022, the highest figure in its history.

This situation made the campaign for these extraordinary elections in Ecuador revolve almost exclusively around the security problem and the threat of organized crime, mainly dedicated to drug trafficking and other crimes such as extortion and kidnapping.

Although the eight main candidates have promised to address the situation and reduce the violence, Villavicencio had repeatedly reiterated his intention to confront mafias such as drug trafficking, and for several weeks he had denounced death threats.

“My husband was assassinated because he was the only one who confronted the political mafias and drug traffickers in this country,” Villavicencio's wife, Verónica Sarauz, said Thursday on her X account (formerly Twitter).

Wake in Quito

Villavicencio's mortal remains were transferred around noon from the Legal Medicine Center where the autopsy was performed to a funeral home in the north of Quito where the body will be watched over by relatives, and initially on Friday it will be open to the public.

The attack also left at least nine injured, five of whom are in stable condition at the Women's Clinic, according to a statement from the medical center where Villavicencio also arrived “in a sudden condition” and where they failed to save his life.

The consternation of the murder of Villavicencio clouded the celebrations planned this Thursday in Ecuador to commemorate another year of the first cry for independence, which coincided with the first of the three days of national mourning decreed by the Government.

The Armed Forces began to deploy in the country to comply with the state of emergency declared by Lasso and the National Electoral Council (CNE) ratified that the election process continues and hopes that the Construye movement, for which Villavicencio was running, can designate to a replacement.

However, Villavicencio's photo will continue on the ballot papers, which are already all printed, and Construye has asked for an international group to investigate the crime, as well as postponing next Sunday's candidate debate, which will be held seven days before the vote.