Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio dies after being shot three times by hitmen

Lasso shows his dismay and calls an emergency meeting with state authorities

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio died this Wednesday after receiving three shots to the head after an attack by a group of hitmen during the end of an electoral rally in Quito, the country's capital, ahead of the elections on August 20 .

Villavicencio, a former trade unionist and candidate for the Construye Movement, has been transferred to the Women's Clinic, where his death was confirmed, as reported by his personal friend and campaign adviser, Dr. Carlos Figueroa, in statements collected by the newspaper. The universe'.

The Ecuadorian Police is already investigating the facts and is checking the place, whose passage has been closed, to "rule out the presence of explosives."

According to witnesses quoted by the newspaper 'Primicias', the presidential candidate was shot by a revolver used by "a short man."

The shooting, which occurred at 6:20 p.m. local time, has left at least eight injured, of whom seven have had to be taken to the hospital, according to campaign sources quoted by 'El Universo'.

"Outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio. My solidarity and condolences with his wife and daughters. For his memory and for his fight, I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished," the president of the country, Guillermo Lasso, in his account of the social network X, formerly Twitter.

The president has summoned the Security Cabinet, which will be attended by the president of the National Council of Ecuador (CNE), Diana Atamaint, the State Attorney General, Diana Salazar, the president of the National Court of Justice, Iván Saquicela, and other state authorities .

"Organized crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them," added Lasso.