Ecuadorian Presidential Candidate Assassinated: Authorities and State Under Fire for Security Omission

Quito (EFE) authorities.

The complaint is also directed against the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, and the General Commander of the Police, Fausto Salinas, among others, for considering that the security protocols and the complete protection that Villavicencio should have, who had a risk level of 97%, determined by the Police itself.

Marco Yaulema, the family’s lawyer, recalled that Villavicencio had been conducting investigations since 2007, including some related to acts of corruption in public State institutions.

He carried out “around 200 investigations and complaints of corruption” and wrote about eleven books on the same topics, he said, adding that Villavicencio “endured one of the greatest persecutions in both the political and judicial spheres.”

A week before his murder, when leaving a political rally in Quito, Villavicencio had denounced threats against him and assured that there were police officers in the police institution who allegedly had relations with the mafia.

security protocols

Yaulema questioned the security protocols of August 9, when Villavicencio was assassinated by getting into the back of a double-cab truck, which was on the street, which was not armored, nor did it have a driver, while the vehicle that did have with armor was two minutes away from arriving, he said.

“Oh surprise, they didn’t wait these two minutes, they transferred him to Fernando Villavicencio holding his arms, with a bottle in his left hand, I don’t know what substance, held by police officers by the arms, preventing his mobility,” he said.

He added that there was not an adequate number of guards, although the Police said that Villavicencio had three security rings.

“When he was already in the back seat, he received two bullets to the face and one to the brain,” he explained, emphasizing that “there was an intentional omission, the Ecuadorian State did not fulfill its role as guarantor,” for which they filed the complaint for the crime of murder by willful omission, punishable by up to 26 years in prison.

He stressed that they will go to different international organizations if necessary because they do not trust the country’s justice system.

In a press conference, in which the eldest daughter, two brothers, her uncle and Patricia Barragán, who was shot during the attack on Villavicencio, were present, Yaulema also questioned whether the person suspected of having shot had not been immediately transferred to a house of health with custody, but taken to facilities of the Prosecutor’s Office, where he died.

Security to the Villavicencio family

Yaulema pointed out that the family nucleus and those close to Villavicencio need urgent protection, and said that if something happens to them, “the State will be responsible”, due to omission.

Upon learning of the murder, Lasso expressed his condolences and said that the crime will not go unpunished.

“If he (Lasso) really wanted to protect Fernando Villavicencio, he should have carried out suitable policies that he did not do,” said the lawyer.

Next Sunday, Ecuadorians will go to the polls to vote in a national popular consultation and a local one on vital issues for the environment and to choose who will complete the term in the Presidency for which Lasso was elected, between 2021 and 2025.

Last May, Lasso dissolved Parliament, with an opposition majority, when he was preparing to debate and vote on his dismissal in a censorship impeachment trial against him for alleged embezzlement, which he denied.

At the same time, he invoked the so-called “cross death”, contemplated in the Constitution, and requested the calling of extraordinary elections, thus shortening his term in half, so that whoever replaces him will govern until May 24, 2025.

Seven candidates seek to succeed Lasso, while the Electoral Council qualified the candidacy of Christian Zurita to replace Villavicencio, who is still pending registration.