The United States government affirmed this Thursday that the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio is a “blatant attack” against democracy and the rule of law in Ecuador.
(You can read: The day Fernando Villavicencio was warned that he could end up like Galán)
Senior officials of the Joe Biden government, such as his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan; the secretary of state, Anthony Blinkenand the person in charge of Latin America in the Foreign Ministry, Brian Nicholscondemned the murder of Villavicencio, who was shot several times on Wednesday after an electoral rally.
(You can read: Who is alias ‘Fito’, drug trafficker accused of threatening Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador)
“We extend our condolences to the family and loved ones of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The United States strongly condemns this brazen act of violence and assault on democracy in Ecuador“Sullivan, the highest-ranking official of the US government who has spoken so far, declared on Twitter.
For his part, Blinken stated on the same social network that the US “is prepared to support local authorities to bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice.”
(Also read: In a new video “Los Lobos” deny having murdered Fernando Villavicencio)
We strongly condemn the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and offer our condolences to his family and to the people of Ecuador. We stand ready to support local authorities to bring the perpetrators of this heinous act to justice.
—Secretary Antony Blinken (@SecBlinken) August 10, 2023
We send our condolences to the family and loved ones of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. The United States condemns this brazen act of violence and assault on Ecuador’s democracy.
—Jake Sullivan (@JakeSullivan46) August 10, 2023
Nichols highlighted in a message in Spanish on his Twitter account the determination that Villavicencio showed to confront the violence of the armed gangs that have struck Ecuador in recent years.
“The assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken opponent of organized crime, is a brazen attack on democracy and the rule of law. We urge a swift and thorough investigation by the competent authorities and offer our support,” he said. nichols.
(In addition: The Ecuadorian Police will reinforce security in violent areas during the elections)
The assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken opponent of organized crime, is a brazen attack on democracy and the rule of law. We urge a prompt and thorough investigation by the competent authorities and…
— Brian A. Nichols (@WHAAsstSecty) August 10, 2023
The assassination of Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken opponent of organized crime, is a brazen attack on democracy and the rule of law.
Just this Wednesday, a few hours after the murder, the US ambassador to Ecuador, Michael Fitzpatrick, strongly condemned the act of violence and expressed the willingness of the US to cooperate with the Ecuadorian authorities to investigate what happened.
Villavicencio was one of the eight presidential candidates who were running in the extraordinary general elections scheduled for the next day 20 in which the successor to the conservative Guillermo Lasso will be elected.
The 59-year-old candidate, a journalist and former member of the National Assembly who with his investigations into corruption had become one of the staunchest enemies of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017), received a burst of shots at the end of a rally of his electoral campaign that he carried out in a school in Quito.
(Also: Harsh complaint by Fernando Villavicencio’s wife: “He should have left through the back door”)
President Lasso decreed this Thursday the state of emergency for 60 days throughout the country and ratified that the extraordinary general elections will be held on August 20, as planned, but with a deployment of the military throughout the national territory.
For a little over two years, multiple reports of murders, massacres, extortions, attacks with explosives, among other crimes, have been reproduced daily, which have sown terror among Ecuadorians.
(Keep reading: “He will always be a benchmark of value and tenacity”: Fernando Villavicencio’s party speaks)
Ecuador closed 2022 with the highest rate of violent deaths in its history, registering 25.32 per 100,000 inhabitantsthe vast majority associated, according to the Government, to organized crime and drug trafficking, which has gained strength on the coast and has turned the ports into large springboards for cocaine that reaches Europe and North America.
EFE
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