Politics
‘Deadly blow to democracy’: Ecuadoran presidential candidate shot dead fortnight before election
Fernando Villavicencio’s assassination comes amid growing power of organised crime in the country
Fernando Villavicencio, Ecuadoran presidential candidate, has been assassinated less than two weeks before an election, throwing the country’s unstable political environment into further turmoil.
It comes as a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking which, in the midst of the electoral process, has already led to the death of a mayor and a parliamentary candidate.
Current President Guillermo Lasso, who dissolved congress this year to avoid impeachment, summoned his security council in Quito and ...