Ecuador: President Guillermo Lasso Asks FBI for Help After Election Murder

Ecuador President Guillermo Lasso is calling on the FBI for help after the assassination of National Assembly member and Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio sent shockwaves across the country.

In a post on X, Lasso revealed that he asked the FBI to help investigate the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and that the agency has accepted the request and will be sending over a delegation to Ecuador in the next few hours.

In addition, Lasso also declared a two-month state of emergency following the assassination. This period will include the first round of elections scheduled for August 20, according to France 24.

"Outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio," President Guillermo Lasso wrote in a previous tweet. He blamed the assassination on organized crime, which Villavicencio has been crusading against. The candidate rubbed several crime bosses the wrong way with his campaign, even gaining the ire of a group connected to Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.

"For his memory and for his fight, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished," Lasso vowed.

He also stated in an address online, "The Armed Forces as of this moment are mobilized throughout the national territory to guarantee the security of citizens, the tranquility of the country, and the free and democratic elections of August 20."

A 3-day national mourning period has also been declared "to honor the memory of a patriot, of Fernando Villavicencio Valencia."

Ecuador Arrests 6 Colombians in Connection to Fernando Villavicencio Assassinations

Ecuador's interior minister, Juan Zapata, confirmed that Ecuadorian authorities have made several arrests in connection to the candidate's assassination. Chief among these arrests are six suspects who were all from Colombia.

Villavicencio, a former journalist who used to work for The Guardian, was assassinated as he was leaving a campaign rally at a high school in Quito. One of the suspects was killed in a shootout that ensued after the presidential candidate was shot.

The New York Times pointed out that the assassination of the journalist-turned-politician was reminiscent of the assassination of Haiti's president, Jovenel Moïse, in July 2021. This was because Colombians were involved in both high-profile assassinations. It is still not clear if these Colombians were hired mercenaries, just like what happened during the Moïse assassination.

Rising Violence and Organized Crime in Ecuador

Ecuador lies between Peru and Colombia, two of the world's biggest producers of Coca, a plant used in making cocaine, but it did not have much of a history in terms of drug manufacturing. However, the country is seeing a rise in violence due to drugs and organized crime.

According to CNN, the country is now an integral trafficking route from South America to North America and Europe, with local criminal organizations affiliated with Colombian and Mexican drug cartels battling it out on the country's Pacific coast.

Before he was killed, Fernando Villavicencio has been calling out these organizations, particularly namedropping the jailed leader of one of these criminal gangs. He was also not shy about revealing that he had been receiving death threats from them, saying that his candidacy was widely seen as a threat by these gangs.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

WATCH: Assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio shocks Ecuador ahead of election - ABC News (Australia)