Five jailed for Ecuador presidential candidate’s murder
Five individuals connected to one of Ecuador’s largest criminal gangs have been imprisoned for the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last year.
Mr. Villavicencio, a national assembly member and former journalist, was fatally shot as he exited a campaign rally in Quito in August.
Carlos Angulo, the alleged leader of the Los Lobos gang, and Laura Castilla received sentences of 34 years and eight months for orchestrating the assassination.
Two men and a woman were sentenced to 12 years by the Quito court for assisting the hit squad in the attack.
Prosecutors claimed that Angulo, known as “The Invisible,” ordered the hit from the prison in Quito where he is incarcerated. He denied the charges, asserting he was being used as a “scapegoat.”
Castilla was responsible for the logistics of the assassination, allegedly providing weapons, money, and motorcycles to the men carrying out the attack.
The others – Erick Ramirez, Victor Flores, and Alexandra Chimbo – were accused of helping the hit squad track Mr Villavicencio’s movements.
More than 70 people gave evidence during the trial, including a key witness who said the gang had been offered more than $200,000 (£154,000) to kill Mr Villavicencio.
A crusading anti-corruption activist, Mr. Villavicencio had been one of the few candidates to alleged links between organized crime and government officials in Ecuador.
In the weeks leading up to the election, the politician had received death threats and been given a security detail. But he continued to campaign and was gunned down by a group of assailants on 9 August outside a school in the north of Quito.
Prosecutors said during the trial that one of the men involved in the assassination was shot dead in a confrontation with police at the scene.
Six other men – all Colombian nationals – were later arrested in connection with the killing, but were subsequently found murdered at El Litoral prison, where they were being held in pre-trial detention.
A separate investigation into who contracted Los Lobos to carry out the hit remains ongoing, prosecutors have said.
Mr Villavicencio’s widow, Veronica Sarauz, welcomed the ruling. But she said it only marked the beginning of a long road to determine the entire story behind her husband’s death.
Ecuador has historically been a relatively safe and stable country in Latin America, but crime has shot up in recent years, fuelled by the growing presence of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, which have infiltrated local criminal gangs.
The Los Lobos gang led by Angulo is said to have deep connections to the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel in Mexico.
