Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio assassinated at campaign event
CNNQuito, Ecuador CNN — A candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated at a campaign event in the capital Wednesday, as a deadly escalation of violence and crime grips the South American country. Alleged gunman dead, six others arrested Villavicencio’s suspected shooter died in police custody following an exchange of fire with security personnel, Ecuador’s Attorney General’s Office said in a statement on X, formerly known as Twitter. Seven of the Ecuador’s eight presidential candidates were under police protection, Zapta also said earlier in the week, according to local media. Jan Topic, a businessman, said Wednesday he would be pausing his campaign “out of respect for this unfortunate death and for the safety of my campaign team.” The front runner for the presidency, Luisa González, said, “We stand in solidarity with Quito and with the family of the candidate Villavicencio, because when they touch one of us, they touch all of us.” She addressed her own security in an interview with Ecuadorian radio Thursday morning.