Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando shot dead in the head

Fernando Killed: Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead three times in the head. The attack took place when Fernando was sitting in the car after a rally. Confirming Fernando's murder, Ecuador's President Guillermo Lasso has said that the accused will not be spared. He has called a meeting of the security officials.

Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist, was one of eight candidates for the August 20 presidential election. In videos viral on social media, Fernando is seen surrounded by security personnel. However, as soon as they sit in the car, gunfire starts. 9 people including 2 police officers were injured in this attack. Fernando's campaign manager has told that he had been receiving death threats for a long time. According to the Washington Post, the attacker also threw a grenade towards the people, although the grenade did not explode.

Fernando had been in jail for 18 months

According to the Reuters report, the police had caught one of the attackers. However, he died in the firing by the security officials. Fernando's campaign manager Juquilanda has appealed to international organizations to take necessary steps to stop the ever-increasing violence and drug trafficking in Ecuador. Jukialanda said – The people of Ecuador are crying.

No one should die because of politics. Fernando has been a strong critic of former Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. For this he had to stay in jail for 18 months. Later he moved from Ecuador to the neighboring country Peru.

Ecuador struggling with drugs and violence

Recently, the drug trade and organized crime have grown rapidly in Ecuador. To deal with this, President Lasso had to impose emergency and night curfew in 3 provinces of the country. Prior to Fernando, the mayor of Manta, a large Ecuadorian city, was assassinated in July. In February, the mayor candidate of the city of Puerto Lopez was killed.

Meanwhile, the leader of the opposition wanted to remove President Lasso from office. Impeachment was also brought against him for this. Aljazeera reported that the resolution could not be passed due to obstructions created by Fernando. The President dissolved the assembly and announced elections to avoid impeachment.

The economy of better with the help of oil was gifted to foreign mafias

According to the New York Times report, between 2005 and 2015, Ecuador strengthened its economy with oil. The government invested the money raised from this in health, education and social programmes. During this time lakhs of people were lifted out of poverty.

However, this improvement soon fell prey to the foreign drug mafia. Gang wars started openly on the streets. Ecuador has to deal with car bombings almost daily. Incidents of children being shot outside the school are becoming common.