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US-Ecuador Relations: Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated during the election campaign in August. Regarding this, now US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has announced a reward of 5 million dollars for anyone providing information about the mastermind who carried out the murder.
IANS quoted US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as saying that in a press release issued by the US State Department on Thursday (September 28), it was said that I am the co-conspirators behind the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and Announcing a reward of up to $5 million for information about the masterminds
Murder in the capital Quito
The US Secretary of State also announced a second reward of up to one million dollars for information leading to the identity or location of any individual holding a key leadership position in the organized crime group responsible for the murder of Villavicencio.
Villavicencio, the presidential candidate for the Movimiento Construye party in the 2023 presidential elections, was attacked while he was leaving an event in the capital Quito on August 9. Ecuador’s National Police have arrested six Colombian nationals, who are believed to be part of an organized crime group, in connection with a murder conspiracy.
Murder of mayor of Puerto Lopez
US Secretary of State Blinken was quoted as saying, “The FBI will continue to investigate and identify others involved in the murder. The United States will continue to support the people of Ecuador and work to bring to justice those individuals who committed crimes.” Want to weaken democratic processes through this.”
Villavicencio’s election campaign focused on tackling corruption and criminal gangs, and he was one of the few candidates to allege links between organized crime and government officials in Ecuador. Just a few weeks before his murder, the mayor of Manta city in Ecuador was shot dead. In February this year, the mayor of Puerto Lopez was assassinated during a visit to his city.
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