In a tragic turn of events, Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, was tragically assassinated during a campaign event in the capital city on Wednesday.
This horrifying incident marks a distressing escalation of violence and crime within the South American nation.
The gravity of the situation prompted Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso to seek assistance from the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
President Lasso took to Twitter on Thursday to announce that an FBI delegation would be arriving in Ecuador within the next few hours to provide their expertise, CNN reports.
Villavicencio met a fatal end when he was shot while leaving a campaign rally at a school situated north of the capital, Quito, merely 10 days prior to the scheduled first round of the presidential election.
He was 59 years old at the time of his tragic demise.
Tragically, nine other individuals were also wounded in the attack, including a candidate running for the National Assembly and two police officers.
Undeterred by this shocking incident, President Lasso emphatically declared that those responsible for this heinous act would not escape justice.
He asserted that, despite the considerable reach of organized crime, the full force of the law would be employed to bring them to account.
In response to this distressing situation, President Lasso declared a state of emergency for a period of 60 days.
He further authorized an immediate deployment of the armed forces across the entire nation and declared three days of national mourning to honor the victims.
Notwithstanding the tragic circumstances, Ecuador’s presidential election, scheduled to take place on August 20, will proceed as planned, according to Diana Atamaint, the President of the Electoral Council.
Written by staff
B.C. Begley 