Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio assassinated at campaign event

An opposition candidate in Ecuador’s upcoming presidential election, Fernando Villavicencio, was assassinated at a campaign event Wednesday, President Guillermo Lasso confirmed on social media, vowing the killing will not go unpunished.

Villavicencio, 59, was shot dead at a Movimiento Construye political rally at a school north of the capital Quito, campaign team members Cristián Zurita and Rodrigo Figueroa told CNN.

He was gunned down 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place on August 20.

At: https://www.cnn.com/2023/08/09/americas/ecuador-presidential-candidate-fernando-villavicencio-assassinated-intl-hnk/index.html

Fernando Villavicencio, 1963-2023.

Villavicencio, a centrist, was one of eight candidates vying to replace disgraced President Guillermo Lasso, who was forced to call early elections after dissolving the National Assembly on May 17 - just days from a likely impeachment.

Link to tweet