AFPGuards at the prison in Guayaquil where a number of suspects were murdered
NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 01:26
A seventh suspect in the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has been murdered in a prison in the capital Quito. President Lasso has fired a senior government official responsible for prison policy.
The seventh suspect was in a different prison than the six men who were murdered a day earlier. Lasso has ordered that six other inmates believed to be involved in the politician’s death be moved to another prison. For security reasons, it has not been revealed where they were taken.
Lasso also fired the officer who headed the police investigation team over the prison killings. It is common for people to be killed in prisons in Ecuador. Prison riots have also been taking place recently. Ecuador has become a hub for cocaine trafficking in recent years and is struggling with drug violence.
President cancels trip
Lasso was actually scheduled to take a trip to South Korea, but canceled it to “address the crisis in the correctional system,” he announced on his own social media channels.
Villavicencio was shot dead in Quito after speaking at a campaign rally in August. He was a fierce opponent of organized crime and regularly spoke out about the relationship between the drug cartels and the government.
2023-10-07 23:26:50
#suspected #murder #Ecuadors #presidential #candidate #murdered #prison
