Ecuador Declares State of Emergency After Presidential Hopeful Killed
Leader says the Aug. 20 election will go forward as planned Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio waved a national flag during a campaign event at a school minutes before he was shot to death Wednesday. Photo: Associated Press By Ryan Dubé Aug. 10, 2023 9:00 am ET Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso said he would send soldiers into the streets after gunmen killed a presidential hopeful in a country hit hard by drug-fueled violence. The 60-day state of emergency will take force as several other candidates suspended their campaigns following Wednesday’s killing of Fernando Villavicencio, the first time a presidential hopeful has been assassinated in the country’s history. Lasso on Thursday also declared three days of national mourning and said the Aug. 20
Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio waved a national flag during a campaign event at a school minutes before he was shot to death Wednesday.
Photo: Associated Press
Ecuador President
Guillermo Lasso
said he would send soldiers into the streets after gunmen killed a presidential hopeful in a country hit hard by drug-fueled violence.
The 60-day state of emergency will take force as several other candidates suspended their campaigns following Wednesday’s killing of Fernando Villavicencio, the first time a presidential hopeful has been assassinated in the country’s history.
Lasso on Thursday also declared three days of national mourning and said the Aug. 20 election will go forward as planned.
“We aren’t going to hand over power and the democratic institutions to organized crime,” said Lasso in televised comments. “The elections aren’t going to be suspended.”
Villavicencio, a 59-year-old former journalist and congressman, was killed after leaving a campaign event at a school in the capital, Quito.
Write to Ryan Dubé at [email protected]
Ecuadorean Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead as he left a campaign event in Quito, less than two weeks before the election. He was a sharp critic of corruption and said he had received threats from a local gang. Photo: Shutterstock
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