Candidate in Ecuador’s presidential election shot dead

BBC has reported that a candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election has been shot dead.

Fernando Villavicencio, a member of the country’s national assembly, was attacked after an event in the northern city of Quito on Wednesday. A member of his campaign team told local media that Villavicencio was about to get into a car when a man stepped forward and shot him in the head. The death was confirmed on social media by current president Guillermo Lasso.

The presidential election is scheduled to take place on 20 August. Lasso said he was “outraged and shocked” by the killing and pledged that “this crime will not go unpunished”. “Organized crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them,” he said.

A recent rise in violent crime, fueled by the growing presence of drug cartels in Ecuador, has been a central issue in the presidential campaign.

Last week, Villavicencio, a former journalist, said he and his team had been threatened by the leader of a gang linked to drug trafficking.

His killing follows that of Augustin Intriago, mayor of the city of Manta, in July and Omar Menedez, candidate for mayor in the city of Puerto López, in February.