Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for Ecuador's presidential elections, was was shot dead in Quito on Wednesday when he was getting into a car after addressing a rally. A man from the crowd stepped forward and shot Villavicencio in the head.
The 59-year-old Villavicencio was one of the eight candidates in the first round of the presential election in the South American country slated to be held on August 20.
Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso vowed that the "crime will not go unpunished." The killing comes amidst a rise in violence in the country that the government has blamed on drug trade war between Mexican cartels, the Albanian mafia and other groups.
Here are 5 points on Fernando Villavicencio
-A former member of the state oil company Petroecuador and later a journalist, Fernando Villavicencio was one of the most critical voices against corruption in the country. Villavicencio had pledged to tackle corruption and reduce tax evasion if elected to power.
- The 59-year-old centrist leader on Tuesday submitted a report to the attorney general's office about an oil business, details of which are unavailable.
-Villavicencio had claimed to have received multiple death threats from Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, an organised crime group that operates in Ecuador.
-He was an outspoken critic of former President Rafael Correa during his regime from 2007 to 2017. Villavicencio was sentenced to 18 months in jail for defamation over statements against Correa.
- Villavicencio obstructed the impeachment motion moved by the opposition leaders against President Lasso allowing him to call for an early election.
