Mayhem in Ecuador, assassination of Presidential Candidate!

South America has been under a grip of constant increase in crime rates,especially Ecuador. Recently, Villavicencio, a former lawmaker and journalist was assassinated a week back in Quito. He was assassinated just after he finished his campaign event. 

Six accused have been arrested and charged with murder and one was shot in a shootout.  The court has denied any type of bail and gave orders to the police to keep the accused under their custody. Interestingly all the accused are Colombian Nationals.

Thousands of Ecuadorian soldiers and armed police personnel have been asked to move a gang leader. The name of the gang leader has been in a trend Jose Adolfo Macias (Fito), he is accused of sending threats to Fernando Villavicencio who was standing for the presidential candidate. 

He was shot in the head, and his death has questioned even the securities of civilians as well. This event came as a shock for many of the democracies in the continent. Crime rate has been soaring, moreover, the drug cartel and the particular angle has been a concern for everyone. 

Next for Ecuador?

Fernando in his speech slammed corruption and drug activities. He acted more like a buffer who as previously as a journalist has covered the activities and has acted as a bridge with the government officials and the organised crime cartels.

A day before he was shot, he complained about the irregular deals in the oil contracts which were signed during the former President Correa. In place of Fernando his party has proposed the name of Andrea Gonzalez. She is an environmental activist and there will be an open discussion on this on upcoming Sunday. 

She is close to Fernando and party do believe she will be in a lead, the widow of Mr. Villaviencio, Ms Sarauz held the state responsible for the death of her husband and questioned the security arrangements. She even has shown her displeasure for Gonzalez being named as her husband’s replacement. 

Ecuador as a country is known for its ethnic identities and previously was the colony of Spain. Initially its main occupation was agriculture but industries and oil discovery changed its dynamics. Guillermo Lasso is currently serving as the President who is liberal. 

The Interior Minister has described the killings as “a political crime of a terrorist nature”! The Nationals elections are going to be held on 25 of August. The government has decreed national mourning of three days and the country has been slashed by a state of emergency for 60 days. Armed forces have started to mobilise and the police have been deployed to maintain peace and order strictly. 

The Further Violence!

Country is well known for its production of Cocaine and once was well known for its peace in Latin America. There has been a significant growth in drug seizure and local crime from 2018. In Ecuador the drug violence stands for a significant rate of 26 per 100,000. Los Choneros has given death threats to Fernando previously as well. 

According to the agencies, the war on drugs in countries like Mexico and Colombia has put the groups under pressure in tLatin, Amazon has been a new route for them. Albanian Mafias are placing their people in Ecuador.

The Director of Colombia’s Conflict Analysis Resource Centre (CERAC) unit said the cartels are able to operate at a lower rate of cost. The country has developed a policy of fighting organised crime. In January 2018 there was an event of car bombing which was the pioneer of all of the conflicts. The attack destroyed a police headquarters and 23 people were wounded in the town near to the Colombian Border.

Colombian guerrilla group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) has also been under a scrutiny, the murdered three journalists working for Quito’s daily newspaper.