As Ecuador reels from the assassination of a high-profile presidential candidate, experts say the event underscores growing violence driven by powerful criminal groups in the South American nation.
Fernando Villavicencio was killed at a political rally in the capital of Quito on Wednesday, sending shockwaves through Ecuador, which is set to hold a presidential election on August 20.
The candidate was as an outspoken critic of corruption and the drug-trafficking groups that have expanded their influence in Ecuador in recent years.
While details of the crime remain murky, Ecuador’s police have arrested six suspects, all of whom are Colombian, according to officials. A seventh suspect was killed in Wednesday’s gunfire.
In the hours following the shooting, President Guillermo Lasso blamed criminal networks for the violence.
“Organised crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them,” Lasso wrote on social media.
Article from www.aljazeera.com