The assassination of Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio shocked the South American country, where rising drug-related violence is a major concern for voters, leading some of his rivals to suspend campaigning.
Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organized crime, was killed on Wednesday during an evening campaign event in northern Quito.
A suspect in the crime later died of injuries sustained in a shoot-out and six others have so far been arrested, the attorney general’s office said. Nine people, including a candidate for the legislature and two police officers, were injured, it added.
President Guillermo Lasso said after midnight the crime was clearly an attempt to sabotage the election, but that voting would go ahead as planned on Aug. 20, albeit amid a national state of emergency with the military mobilized to guarantee security.
Lasso also declared three days of mourning in Ecuador.
The murder prompted anger from Villavicencio supporters towards former President Rafael Correa, of whom Villavicencio was an outspoken detractor when he worked as a journalist.
Villavicencio had been sentenced to 18 months in prison for defamation over statements made against the former president, but he fled to Indigenous territory within Ecuador and later was given asylum in Peru, before returning after Correa left office.
“Ecuador has become a failed state,” Correa, who now lives in Belgium, said on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter. “Hopefully those who try to sow more hate with this new tragedy will understand that will only continue to destroy us.”
Candidate Luisa Gonzalez, who is running for Correa’s party and leading with 29.3% support, expressed horror at the killing, but did not suspend her campaign.
Indigenous candidate Yaku Perez and law-and-order hopeful Jan Topic both suspended their campaigns, while businessman Otto Sonnenholzner begged the government to take action.
Lasso, who called the elections early amid an impeachment bid against him, has blamed heightened violence on the streets and in prisons on criminal infighting to control drug trafficking routes used by Mexican cartels, the Albanian mafia and others, and struggled to push back on crime.
Security concerns, along with employment and migration, are major issues in the Ecuador presidential contest.
Villavicencio’s party Movimiento Construye said on Wednesday discussions had been held recently about whether to suspend campaigning due to political violence, including the July murder of the mayor of Manta.
Villavicencio opposed the suspension, it said, saying it would be an act of cowardice.
Villavicencio had on Tuesday made a report to the attorney general’s office about an oil business, but no further details of his report were made public.
Villavicencio, a married father, had 7.5% support in polls, placing him fifth out of eight candidates.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")