Global Courant
Verónica Sarauz, widow of Fernando Villavicencio, the presidential candidate assassinated in Ecuador a few days before the August elections, was the victim of an attack this Wednesday in the city of Quito. This was stated by Christian Zurita, best friend of the candidate of the Construye movement, who was shot by assassins at the exit of a party meeting and was his successor in the nomination.
“Verónica Sarauz, wife of Fernando Villavicencio, has just suffered an attack,” Zurita said on the social network X, formerly Twitter.
In addition, he stated that “his security pod detained a Venezuelan citizen on a motorcycle and with a firearm who tried to attack the car in which he was traveling.”
Zurita ended his publication by highlighting that Ecuador is “a country immobilized by terror.”
Verónica Sarauz, wife of Fernando Villavicencio, has just suffered an attack; His security pod detained a Venezuelan citizen on a motorcycle and with a firearm who attempted to attack the car in which he was traveling. A country paralyzed by terror.
—Christian Zurita:. (@christianzr) September 27, 2023
For its part, the Ecuadorian National Police tried to mitigate the incident, describing the incident as “an isolated incident.”
In any case, he reported that he had arrested “a foreign citizen” who was “riding a motorcycle in the Ecovía lane (for public buses) in a suspicious attitude and carrying a blank gun.”
CLARIFICATION
Given the information circulating on social networks about the alleged attack on Verónica S., in #UIOAccording to preliminary information, this is an isolated case in which a foreign citizen was arrested while riding a motorcycle in a posture… pic.twitter.com/7OVhb4fB06
— Ecuador Police (@PoliciaEcuador) September 27, 2023
Villavicencio was murdered on August 9 as he headed to lead a rally in the north of the capital of Ecuador, a country that has faced a wave of violence linked to drug trafficking for several years. Since that day, his wife has been under police protection and wears a bulletproof vest as a precaution.
After the assassination attempt that shocked the country, six Colombians were arrested, while another accused of shooting the politician died in a confrontation with security guards of Villavicencio, a former investigative journalist known for his corruption revelations.
Zurita replaced him in the snap elections on August 20, coming third with 16% of the vote.
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He was 59 years old, worked as a journalist and investigated corruption cases against former President Rafael Correa, who threatened him and managed to convict him of libel.
Gangs with ties to Mexican and Colombian cartels fight for business with blood and fire. Clashes in prisons end in massacres that have killed more than 430 prisoners since 2021.
Between 2018 and 2022, the number of homicides quadrupled, rising to 26 per 100,000 inhabitants.
According to experts, this rate will be up to 40 this year in Ecuador, which has a population of 16.9 million, according to the 2022 census.
In the August presidential election, Villavicencio trailed left-wing Luisa González (34%) and right-wing Daniel Noboa (23%), who will compete in the Oct. 15 runoff.
According to the latest poll by the company Comunicaliza, Noboa is at the top of voting intention with 54%, compared to 46% for González.
Villavicencio had reported threats
Fernando Villavicencio, who was shot dead in Quito this Wednesday, recently publicly denounced having received repeated threats against his life. Ecuador’s presidential candidate consistently targeted the leader of a local drug group that had ties to the Sinaloa Cartel.
“A police report mentions a very serious threat from one of the bosses of the Sinaloa cartel, I refer to the pseudonym ‘Fito’, against me and my campaign team, with the warning that if I continue to refer to him, their structure will be destroyed “They will attack me or assassinate me,” Villavicencio warned, in an apparent reference to Adolfo Macías, the leader of the gang known as Los Choneros, one of the most powerful in Ecuador.
In a press conference, he suggested that the threat confirmed that his campaign proposals for the August 20 elections “seriously affect these criminal structures.” “And here I am, showing my face. I am not afraid of them because they are the political mafia funded by drug traffickers,” he warned.
