Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate in Ecuador known for speaking out about corruption and the ties between organized crime and government officials, was shot dead after leaving a political rally Wednesday evening in Quito, the capital. President Guillermo Lasso blamed "organized crime" for the assassination, and assured the South American country "this crime will not go unpunished" and the parties responsible "will feel the full weight of the law."
When Villavicencio "stepped outside the door, he was met with gunfire," said Carlos Figueroa, a Villavicencio campaign worker. "There was nothing to be done, because they were shots to the head." He had received and reported several death threats, his campaign said.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Is Stephen Colbert's 'Late Show' cancellation an omen of something worse?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION CBS said its decision to end the talk show was strictly business. But the timing and nature of the announcement has some observers wondering if there's more at play behind the scenes.
-
Bangladesh plane crash kills at least 25 childrenSpeed Read A fighter jet experienced a mechanical failure and crashed into a school in Dhaka
-
28 nations condemn Israel's 'inhumane killing' in GazaSpeed Read Countries including Australia, France, Japan and the U.K. have released a joint statement condemning Israel's ongoing attacks
-
Australian woman found guilty of mushroom murdersspeed read Erin Patterson murdered three of her ex-husband's relatives by serving them toxic death cap mushrooms
-
Combs convicted on 2 of 5 charges, denied bailSpeed Read Sean 'Diddy' Combs was acquitted of the more serious charges of racketeering and sex trafficking
-
Sniper kills 2 Idaho firefighters in ambushSpeed Read A man started a wildfire, then fired a rifle at first responders when they arrived
-
Weinstein convicted of sex crime in retrialSpeed Read The New York jury delivered a mixed and partial verdict at the disgraced Hollywood producer's retrial
-
'King of the Hill' actor shot dead outside homespeed read Jonathan Joss was fatally shot by a neighbor who was 'yelling violent homophobic slurs,' says his husband
-
DOJ, Boulder police outline attacker's confessionspeed read Mohamed Sabry Soliman planned the attack for a year and 'wanted them all to die'
-
Assailant burns Jewish pedestrians in Boulderspeed read Eight people from the Jewish group were hospitalized after a man threw Molotov cocktails in a 'targeted act of violence'
-
Driver rams van into crowd at Liverpool FC paradespeed read 27 people were hospitalized following the attack
