Ecuador is now dominated by gangs and drug cartels and faces an escalation of violence never seen before. This statement was made by the candidate for the presidency of the country, Otto Sonnenholzner, in an interview with the anchor of CNN , Isa Soares, this Thursday (10). He spoke about the murder of another presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, on Wednesday afternoon (09).
“We are under a spiral of violence, which has gotten out of control, has grown in a way that we have never seen before”, commented the candidate during the interview. “There is influence of gangs and drug traffickers in various sectors.” He even stated that he has increased security by hiring private agents. “Members of our team have already been threatened,” he said.
Sonnenholzner recalled recent cases of violence in the country to show that there is a feeling of impotence on the part of the authorities and the population. “Gangs have machine guns, grenades. These groups are the ones who took over the prisons”.
Ecuadorean presidential candidate assassinated
The candidate spoke about Villavicencio’s death, linking the fact to the escalation of violence in the country. He stressed that the very profile of the assassinated presidential candidate was a decoy for criminals. “He was an investigative journalist, he always stood up to the powerful, denouncing corruption,” he says, recalling that two weeks ago he had received death threats. “Unfortunately, your security failed.”
Sonnenholzner praised the Ecuadorian government’s decision to accept the collaboration of the FBI, the US federal police, in the investigation of the crime. “This cooperation to find those responsible is good news. We need to find out what the real motives for the murder were.”
Threats
In an interview last week, Villavicencio had reported that he was being threatened by a cartel in the country.
“Three days ago, a militant from Manabí [cidade do Equador] received visits from several messengers from Alias Fito [líder do cartel Los Choneros] to tell him that if I kept mentioning Los Choneros, they would break me,” he said on the Vis a Vis program, hosted by journalist Janet Hinostroza, on Wednesday (2).
Los Choneros are a criminal organization from Ecuador that emerged in Manabí and is formed by two gangs called Fatales and Las Águilas. They work with extortion, drug trafficking and homicides.
President declares state of emergency in Ecuador
After the threat, Villavicencio said that he would not suspend his election campaign and that he would file a complaint against the threats.
He also previously held Los Choneros responsible for any possible attack that might occur against him, his family and team.
Villavicencio also said, in the interview, that he used the minimum of official state protection, but refused bulletproof vests.
Elections held
In a statement at dawn this Thursday (10), the president of Ecuador, Guillermo Lasso, decreed a state of exception in the country and stated that the presidential elections are held for August 20.
“That’s the best reason to go vote and defend democracy,” said Lasso, who called the attack on Villavicencio a “political crime that has a terrorist character” by someone who tried to “sabotage the electoral process.”
“All the authorities gathered here will remain together and we agreed that, given the loss of a democrat and a fighter, the elections will not be suspended; on the contrary, they need to be carried out and democracy needs to happen”, said the president.
The action moves the Armed Forces of Ecuador to the entire national territory for a period of 60 days. According to Lasso, the measure was taken for the “security of citizens, the tranquility of the country and the free and democratic elections of August 20”.
Who is Fernando Villavicencio?
Born on October 11, 1963, in Alausí, Fernando Alcibiades Villavicencio Valencia had an intense career as a journalist and trade unionist at the same time that he embraced a political career.
He studied journalism and communication at the Universidad Cooperativa de Colombia, where he graduated and began his work as a social communicator. Soon after, he started his political career as one of the founders of the Pachakutik Party in 1995.
the following year, he started working at Petroecuador, the country’s state oil company. There, he worked in journalism and soon took up union positions. He remained a leader of the company’s workers until 1999, when he was dismissed by order of then President Jamil Mahuad.
Even away from Petroecuador, he continued to denounce the company’s problems, such as environmental and labor crimes. He gained notoriety as one of then-President Rafael Correa’s most outspoken critics.
In 2017, he ran for and was elected to a seat in the National Assembly. He held the position until May of this year, when President Guillermo Lasso signed the “cross death”, which resulted in the dissolution of the Ecuadorian parliament.
A critic of Correismo and the Lasso government, Villavicencio was one of the most visible characters in the allegations of corruption in the oil, energy, telecommunications and criminal structures sectors, according to his profile in the National Assembly of Ecuador.
(Published by Fábio Mendes, with information from CNN and Reuters)
Source: CNN Brasil
Bruce Belcher is a seasoned author with over 5 years of experience in world news. He writes for online news websites and provides in-depth analysis on the world stock market. Bruce is known for his insightful perspectives and commitment to keeping the public informed.
