An operation to move a notorious gang leader to a maximum security prison was carried out in the morning with the assistance of thousands of Ecuadorian soldiers and police.
Jose Adolfo Macias, better known as “Fito,” allegedly threatened to kill Fernando Villavicencio, the assassinated candidate for president of Ecuador.
The anti-corruption campaigner was shot three times in the head on Wednesday after leaving a protest.
Prior to his passing, Fito allegedly threatened Mr. Villavicencio.
If I keep bringing up Los Choneros [the gang], they’re going to break me,” he claimed.
His passing has shaken a country that, for the most part, has avoided the decades of drug-gang violence, cartel battles, and corruption that have plagued many of its neighbours. However, crime has dramatically increased recently due to the expansion of the Mexican and Colombian drug cartels.
In Mr. Villavicencio’s place, his Construye party declared Andrea Gonzalez, his vice presidential running mate, as its nominee on Saturday.
The party claimed that Ms. Gonzalez would “guarantee the legacy” of Mr. Villavicencio despite the fact that she has mostly focused her career on environmental problems.
In the meantime, Mrs. Villavicencio’s widow Veronica Sarauz said that the government was to blame for her husband’s passing and expressed displeasure with Ms. Gonzalez’s selection to run in his place.
The main topics of Mr. Villavicencio’s campaign were narcotics and corruption. He was the lone candidate to suggest ties between members of organised crime and Ecuadorian government figures.
He protested to the Public Prosecutor’s Office the day before his murder about alleged irregularities in oil contracts negotiated under previous president Rafael Correa’s administration that had cost the nation US $9 billion (£7 billion).
Seven Colombians were slain in a gunfight, and six of them have been detained in connection with the crime. Who funded and hired the hitmen has not been disclosed by the authorities.
Videos shared by security forces showed gang leader Fito being relocated to a different institution while being handcuffed and wearing only his pants. Fito had been detained in Guayaquil’s Prison 8 since 2011.
Guillermo Lasso, the president of Ecuador, announced that Fito had been transferred to La Roca, a maximum security facility within the same complex that can house 150 inmates.