Seventh suspect in assassination of Ecuador presidential candidate killed in prison

Quito, Ecuador: A seventh man accused in the assassination of an Ecuadorian presidential candidate was killed inside a prison in Ecuador’s capital, authorities said, a day after six others allegedly linked to the crime were slain in a different lock-up.

The killing of the seven suspects happened a little more than a week before Ecuador holds a presidential run-off election and as officials struggle to explain how this was possible.

The prison system said in a press release that the man killed was being held at a prison in Quito, Ecuador’s capital. It released no details of how it happened and identified him only “José M.” without giving his nationality.

Fernando Villavicencio speaks during a campaign event at a school minutes before he was shot dead.Credit: AP

Six Colombian men charged in the August 9 assassination of Fernando Villavicencio were killed on Friday inside a prison in Guayaquil. The Washington Post reported they were all found dead in ward 7, which was under the control of the powerful gang called Los Lobos, according to one prison researcher who spoke to the paper on the condition of anonymity.

President Guillermo Lasso called an emergency meeting of his security cabinet, which decided to move another six remaining suspects in the assassination to a different prison, a government statement said. It didn’t identify the prison to which they were sent for security reasons.

The government also fired the prisons’ system director and the police chief of investigations, the presidential communication office said.

The Prosecutor’s Office is expected to announce soon the conclusion of the investigation into the killing of Villavicencio, who was gunned down while leaving a political rally.

The 59-year-old politician had not been considered among the front-runners for the election’s first round on August 20, but his killing in broad daylight was a shocking reminder of the surge in crime gripping Ecuador. He had reported being threatened by affiliates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the many international organised crime groups operating in Ecuador.

Ecuador is holding the run-off presidential election on October 15 pitting the two top finishers in the August vote – leftist Luisa González and former MP Daniel Noboa, who is the son of a banana tycoon.

AP