Who Was Fernando Villavicencio? Ecuador Presidential Candidate Assassinated

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, a vocal corruption critic, was assassinated via gunfire during a political rally in the capital city of Quito on Wednesday night, President Guillermo Lasso confirmed.

Just before 8:30 p.m. ET Wednesday, Lasso posted on X, formerly Twitter, that Villavicencio had been killed and pledged that the "crime will not go unpunished." The president's post was re-shared on X by Ecuador's National Police.

Villavicencio was shot several times as he left a campaign event on Wednesday night and transported to a nearby clinic but was unable to be saved, according to media reports citing National Police General Manuel Iñiguez.

A police officer was also injured in the shooting, Iñiguez said. The assailants also launched a grenade at the crowd near Villavicencio, but it did not explode. It is unclear at the time of publication how many attackers were involved; however, media reports state that one suspect was injured in a shootout with police and later died. It is also unknown if there were any other fatalities.

At least nine people, including a candidate for the legislature and two police officers were injured in the attack, Reuters reported.

Newsweek reached out via Facebook on Wednesday to Ecuador's National Police for comment.

Villavicencio, a politician and former journalist, was among eight candidates for president in the election scheduled for August 20. The 59-year-old was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement and reported to be one of the country's most outspoken candidates on the ties between organized crime and government officials. He was also a vocal critic of former President Rafael Correa, according to media reports.

Lasso, who became president in 2021, has been criticized for doing little to curb the South American nation's rise in violent crime after taking office. He appeared to blame Villavicencio's shooting on organized crime in his post on X, which was translated from Spanish to English using Google Translate.

For the past several years, the South American nation has been plagued by a spike in violent crime, especially gang-related, according to the Council on Foreign Relations, a nonpartisan organization and think tank focusing on foreign policy. The uptick in violence coupled with the country's political instability had already caused tensions leading up to the election.

Lasso called the snap election after dissolving the country's National Assembly in May, averting his impeachment. Lasso is not running in the coming election.

Villavicencio had been at a local high school for a campaign stop where he had addressed young supporters when the fatal attack occurred. He was shot several times as he left the rally, according to police and local media reports.

Videos of the shooting shared on social media, show Villavicencio leaving the campaign event Wednesday night and entering a white vehicle before gunfire erupts.

Carlos Figueroa, member of Villavicencio's campaign who was at the rally, witnessed the shooting, he told The New York Times.

"When he stepped outside the door, he was met with gunfire," Figueroa said. "There was nothing to be done, because they were shots to the head."

Lasso said he planned to meet with his Security Cabinet to discuss Villavicencio's death.

"Outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio," the president posted on X. "My solidarity and condolences to his wife and daughters. For his memory and for his fight, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished. The Security Cabinet will meet in a few minutes in Carondelet. I have asked the president of the CNE, Diana Atamaint; the State Attorney General, Diana Salazar; the President of the National Court of Justice, Iván Saquicela; and the other state authorities to attend this meeting urgently to discuss this fact that has dismayed the country. Organized crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them."

Villavicencio, from Chimborazo Province, served as a member of Ecuador's National Assembly from 2017 until it was dissolved earlier this year. Prior to entering the political field, Villavicencio was known for denouncing state oil company Petroecuador, where he worked previously as a union member, as well as the government of Correa, who served as president from 2007 to 2017 and was sentenced to prison for corruption in 2020.

Villavicencio was such an outspoken critic of Correa that he was accused of defaming the former president and sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to Reuters, which reports that he fled to Ecuador's Indigenous territory before being given asylum in Peru.

He was married with five children, according to local media reports.