The US is offering a $5 million reward for information leading to the arrest of those behind the assassination of Ecuador's presidential candidate.
"Today I am announcing a reward for information leading to the arrest or conviction of the masterminds and accomplices behind the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement on September 28.
Villavicencio, a former congressman and anti-corruption journalist, was shot dead in Quito on August 9. Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso later asked the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) to assist Ecuadorian police in investigating Villavicencio's death.
Ecuadorian police have arrested six suspects who they say are all Colombian members of criminal gangs.
"I am also offering a reward of up to $1 million for information leading to the identification or location of any individual holding a key position in the transnational organized crime group responsible for the murder of Mr. Villavicencio," the US Secretary of State added.
Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated in August. Photo: Euractiv
Mr. Blinken also affirmed that the United States will continue to support the people of Ecuador and work to bring to justice individuals who seek to undermine democratic processes through violent crime.
Mr Villavicencio was shot three times as he was being escorted to his car by bodyguards after a campaign rally in Quito. One suspect died of his injuries after a shootout with security forces at the scene.
Villavicencio, from Chimborazo province, was a union member at the state oil company Petroecuador and later a journalist. He had been a whistleblower about millions of dollars in oil contracts. The day before his assassination, he reported an oil deal to the Attorney General’s office, but no further details have been made public.
Villavicencio was a critic of former President Rafael Correa and was sentenced to 18 months in prison for defamation for his comments against the former president. He fled to his native Ecuador and sought asylum in Peru until the charges were dropped in 2018.
As a congressman, Villavicencio was criticized by opposition politicians for blocking President Lasso's impeachment process this year, leading Lasso to call early elections.
The moment Mr. Villavicencio was assassinated after a campaign rally in the capital Quito on August 9. Video: BNO News
Ecuador, a South American country of 17.5 million people, will hold a decisive election on October 15 to choose its next president amid a surge in violence, drug trafficking and murder. Experts say gangs have taken advantage of the economic turmoil to expand their reach into Ecuador, a country located between major cocaine-producing regions in Colombia and Peru.
From 2016 to 2022, murders in Ecuador increased by 500%, making it one of the countries with the highest murder rates in Latin America.
Huyen Le (According to Reuters , Al Jazeera )
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