The running mate of the assassinated Ecuadorian presidential candidate, Fernando Villavicencio, will replace him for the August 20th election, their party announced on Saturday. Andrea Gonzalez will be the candidate for the centrist party Construye after the assassination that took place on Wednesday.
Mr. Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist crusading against corruption in his country, who was in second place in the polls for the presidential election, was shot and killed as he was leaving an electoral meeting in the capital, Quito. Most of Ecuador has been under a state of emergency since then, and President Guillermo Lasso has accused organized crime of being responsible for the murder.
Ms. Gonzalez, a 36-year-old environmentalist, was a longtime ally of Fernando Villavicencio. “The name of the vice-presidential candidate will be announced in the coming hours, and it will be chosen from among the most loyal of those who have shared the struggles of comrade Fernando Villavicencio,” the party said.
Ms. Gonzalez has dedicated herself in particular to the defense of oceans and mangroves, the fight against deforestation and wildlife trafficking. She is set to participate in a presidential debate in Quito on Sunday. Six Colombians have already been arrested as part of the investigation into the assassination of Mr. Villavicencio, and one was killed immediately after the attack.
Military and police operation in a prison
Earlier on Saturday, nearly 4,000 Ecuadorian soldiers and police officers participated in an operation within the prison where Fito, the leader of the most powerful gang in the country, is held, whom Fernando Villavicencio accused of threatening him. These law enforcement forces entered the Number 8 prison in Guayaquil (southwest) at dawn, in armored vehicles, where José Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, the leader of the powerful gang Los Choneros, has been held since 2011.
In a photo published by the authorities, he is seen facing forward, hands on his head. In another photo, he is lying on the floor, in underwear, with about ten other prisoners. The name Fito has been making headlines in the Ecuadorian press since the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio.
