A presidential candidate from Ecuador, known for his opposition to cartels and corrupt practices, was killed at a rally in the country’s capital on Wednesday. This occurred amid an alarming wave of violence caused by gangs.

Guillermo Lasso, President of the Republic of Chile, confirmed the assassination and death by organized crime of Fernando Villavicencio. This was less than two week before the presidential elections on August 20.

Lasso made a statement that said, “I assure you this crime will be punished.” “Organized Crime has gone too far. But they will feel full force of the law.”

The Attorney General’s Office in Ecuador said that a suspect died from injuries sustained during a gunfight following the murder, and six suspects were detained by police in Quito after raids.

Villavicencio’s final speech, delivered before his death, promised to root out corruption in the country and jail its “thieves.”

Villavicencio claimed that he received numerous death threats prior to the shooting. These included from members of Mexico’s Sinaloa Cartel – one of many international organized crime organizations operating in Ecuador. He claimed that his campaign was a threat to these groups.

“Here is my face.” Villavicencio, who called the detained crime chief Jose Adolfo Macias Fito by his alias in a press release, said: “I’m not afraid of them.”

Villavicencio, although not the favorite candidate, was one of eight. The politician was 59 years old and ran for the Build Ecuador movement.

Ida Paez, a Villavicencio supporter, said Villavicencio’s campaign gave her hope that the nation could defeat the gangs. She said that at the rally “we were happy.” Fernando even danced. He said, “If someone is messing around with people, then he’s messing around with my family.”

Ecuadorians are reeling from the violence that has not been seen in decades. As rival gangs fight for control in major cities, the sounds of gunfire can be heard. Gangs are also recruiting children. Last month, the mayor was killed by a gunshot in the port city Manta. Lasso declared an emergency on July 26 to cover two provinces as well as the prison system of the country in order to stop the violence.

Otto Sonnenholzner, former vice president and presidential candidate, said at a press conference after the murder on Wednesday, “We’re dying, drowning under a sea of cries, and we don’t deserve to live this way.” We demand that “you do something.”

Social media videos of the rally appear to show Villavicencio leaving the event surrounded with guards. Video shows Villavicencio getting into a pickup truck, before gunshots can be heard. Screams and commotion are then heard around the truck. Patricio Züquilanda confirmed this sequence to The Associated Press.

Lasso claimed that “the murderers”, threw the grenade in the street, but it did not explode. He added that the police destroyed the grenade later with a controlled blast.

Zuquilanda stated that the candidate received at least three threats of death before the shooting. He had reported these to the authorities and a detention was made. He called for international authorities to act against violence, attributing the rise in violence to drug trafficking and violence.

He said, “The Ecuadorian People are Crying and Ecuador is Mortally Wounded.” “Politics can never lead to the death or any member of a society.”

Villavicencio, a former president of Ecuador, was a vocal critic of corruption in the country.

He was a journalist and independent who investigated the corruption of previous governments. Later, he entered politics as a campaigner against corruption.

Villavicencio lodged many legal complaints against members of the Correa administration, including the former president himself. He was sentenced for 18 months to prison on charges of defamation because of his criticisms against Correa. He fled to Indigenous territory and Ecuador before seeking asylum in Peru.

Edison Romo is a former colonel in the military intelligence. He said that Villavicencio was “a threat” to international criminal groups because of his anti-corruption complaints.

Lasso was elected as a conservative in 2021, on a platform that favored business. He clashed with the majority leftist coalition at the National Assembly from the beginning.

Lasso, who dissolved the National Assembly in May by decree to avoid impeachment over accusations that he did not intervene in order to terminate a contract between a state-owned oil transportation company and a privately owned tanker company, called a snap election.

The constitution of Ecuador includes a clause that allows the President to dissolve the Assembly during a crisis. However, it requires new elections both for the assembly and presidency.

Diana Atamaint said that the date of the elections, August 20, was “unalterable”, due to the constitutional and legal mandates as well as the electoral activities already approved by the National Electoral Council.

In recent years, the country has experienced a number of political upheavals.

The authorities said that nine other people were also injured in Wednesday’s shooting, including police officers and a candidate for Congress, in an act they called “terrorist.”

Other candidates demanded that action be taken. Presidential frontrunner Luisa González of the Citizen Revolution Party said, “When they touch one of you, they touch us all.”

Villavicencio is survived by his five children.