Murder in the Presidential Campaign
4000 security forces in action: gang leader in Ecuador transferred to high-security prison
“Fito” being transferred to the maximum security prison of Guayaquil in southwestern Ecuador
© AFP
Once peaceful Ecuador is currently suffering from a wave of violence. The government blames drug dealers and “organized crime” for the fragile situation.
After the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in Ecuador, influential gang leader José Adolfo Macías, aka “Fito”, was transferred to a high-security prison. Around 4,000 heavily armed members of the army and police took part in the operation in a prison in Guayaquil in the south-west of the country on Saturday.
The gang leader is said to have threatened Villavicencio with death in the past, and Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso blames members of “organized crime” for the politician’s murder. According to the President Lasso, the leader of the criminal gang “Los Choneros” was transferred to the maximum security prison of La Roca. This has 150 places and is located in the same prison complex in Guayaquil where “Fito” was previously imprisoned.
Gang leader jailed in Ecuador since 2011 for organized crime
Images released by Lasso showed a bearded man being led away by security forces. Other images show the man tied up and lying face down on the ground. The gang leader, who has been in prison since 2011, was sentenced to 34 years in prison for organized crime, drug trafficking and murder. According to the authorities, “Fito” and his men controlled at least one building of the prison where he was held.
The promising presidential candidate Villavicencio, who had dedicated himself to the fight against corruption, was shot dead on Wednesday evening after a campaign event on the way to his car. Six Colombians were arrested after the attack. A seventh attacker was shot dead by security forces.
Former journalist and MP Villavicencio reported last week that he had received death threats from Fito. A “representative” of the drug lord contacted him and announced that he would be “turned off” if he continued to mention his gang “Los Choneros”. The presidential candidate was under police protection.
“State Crime”
Meanwhile, Villavicencio’s widow Verónica Sarauz blamed the state for her husband’s death. It was a “state crime” because he was “in the custody of the state by the police,” she told reporters on Saturday. She accused the police of not protecting her husband adequately. She and her three children are “also in danger”.
In addition, Sarauz accused supporters of ex-president Rafael Correa in connection with the assassination of her husband. Correa was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2020 after Villavicencio investigated him for corruption. The day before his murder, Villavicencio had filed a complaint with prosecutors about irregularities in oil contracts negotiated during Correa’s tenure. He estimated the damage to the country at around nine billion dollars (8.2 billion euros).
Pope condemns “unjustified violence”
After Villavicencio’s death, the previous vice-presidential candidate Andrea Gonzáles is to stand in his place in the August 20 election, the centrist Construye party announced on Saturday. González, 36, a longtime Villavicencio ally, was scheduled to take part in a campaign debate in Quito on Sunday. So far, she has primarily campaigned for environmental issues such as protecting the oceans and mangrove forests, as well as fighting against wildlife smuggling and deforestation.
Meanwhile, in a message to Archbishop Alfredo Espinoza of Quito, Pope Francis denounced the violence in Ecuador. He condemned “with all his might” the “suffering caused by unjustified violence,” Francis said on Saturday.