A presidential candidate in Ecuador has been shot and killed at marketing campaign occasion

QUITO (AP) — Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot and killed Wednesday by an unidentified gunman whereas at a political rally within the nation’s capital of Quito, President Guillermo Lasso mentioned.

The killing comes amid a startling wave of violence within the South American nation, with drug trafficking and violent killings on the rise.

“I guarantee you that this crime is not going to go unpunished,” Lasso mentioned in an announcement. “Organized crime has gone too far, however they are going to really feel the total weight of the regulation.”

Movies on social media seem to point out the candidate strolling out of the occasion surrounded by guards. The video then exhibits Villavicencio coming into a white truck adopted by gunfire.

The politician, 59, was the candidate for the Construct Ecuador Motion. He was considered one of eight presidential candidates for the late August election.

He was one of the vital vital voices in opposition to corruption, particularly throughout the federal government of former President Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017. He filed many judicial complaints in opposition to excessive rating members of the Correa authorities.

Early accounts present that a number of others had been injured within the assault, although authorities didn’t verify what number of.

He was married and is survived by 5 kids.