Political situation in Ecuador

Police guard the hospital where Villavicencio was taken. Juan Diego Montenegro / AP  

Political situation in Ecuador  

The cartel-linked gang "The Wolves" take on murder 

Ecuador's second largest criminal gang Los Lobos, "The Wolves" in Swedish, takes responsibility for the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. This is reported by the BBC with reference to a video clip in which gang members wearing robber hats make gang signs and brandish their weapons. 

Los Lobos are believed to have ties to the Mexican cartel. Ecuador has historically been relatively spared from organized crime, but in recent years Colombian and Mexican drug cartels have infiltrated local gangs. Ecuador has several large ports and from there cocaine is sent to the US and the EU, writes the BBC.  

Villavicencio was elected to fight corruption and criminal gangs. He was shot in the head with three shots during a campaign rally in Quito, eleven days before the election.  

The 59-year-old leaves behind a wife and five children.  

Supporters of Fernando Villavicencio cry outside the hospital where the presidential candidate was taken. Juan Diego Montenegro / AP  

Leader: Democracy killed-the power of the drug mafia is increasing  

Pain continues along the streets throughout Ecuador after the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, writes the Ecuadorian daily newspaper El Universo in an editorial.  

He was shot in the head even though the state knew Villavicencio was living under threat. Who is Responsible? What happens now? The questions are many and now the president, the police, ministers and the judiciary must act. Criminals must not take over Ecuador, writes the newspaper. 

"The mafia that killed Fernando Villavicencio is trying to terrorize the country. The answers must not be tepid, the citizens are not asking for power, they are demanding it, they are clamoring for it.” 

In a column in the newspaper La Hora, Ugo Stornaiolo writes that the murder proves that "the tentacles of the octopus known as drug mafias and organized crime have expanded". Since 2006, the mafia has gradually permeated more parts of society, he writes. 

“Villavicencio made many enemies with his condemnations of corruption. His death [...] shows how far organized crime has come," writes Stornaiolo and continues:  

"They not only murdered Fernando Villavicencio, they murdered democracy."