Who Was Fernando Villavicencio? Ecuadorian presidential candidate assassinated at campaign event

Fernando Alcibiades Villavicencio Valencia was a politician, trade unionist, and journalist from Ecuador who ran for president in the 2023 general election.

Villavicencio was shot and killed on August 9, 2023, after a campaign event in Quito. According to a member of his campaign crew, he was getting into a car when a man stepped forward and shot him in the head.

The suspect was also shot during a gunfight with security and died as a result of his injuries, the country’s attorney general announced on social media.

Prosecutors said nine other individuals were injured in the pandemonium, including a candidate for the country’s parliament and two police officers.

Following raids in Quito, police detained six people in connection with the assassination. According to the Washington Post, his assassination occurred during a period of rising gang violence in the country.

During his presidential campaign, Villavicencio received many death threats, including one from the Sinaloa Cartel, the most recent of which was a week before the shooting.