An Ecuadorian Criminal Guarantees judge determined on Wednesday that five suspects accused of the murder of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio will be called to trial. Villavicencio was assassinated in August 2023 while on the campaign trail.
In August 2023, Villavicencio, former Ecuadorian congressman and journalist who focused on corruption issues, was assassinated while finishing a political campaign event just days before the elections in which he was running for the presidency. The day after he was assassinated, the Prosecutor’s Office brought charges against the detainees. A month later, others were added to the case for their role in the assassination as well. In total, 13 people are facing prosecution for the assassination, seven of whom were killed in October 2023 in two prisons in the country.
The Prosecutor’s Office presented more than 80 elements of conviction as part of the fiscal accusation, which led the judge to call to trial five of the six processed: Carlos Edwin AL, as the immediate author; Laura Dayanara CV, as a co-author; and Erick Marcelo RP, Víctor Alfonso F. and Alexandra Elizabeth Ch. F, as accomplices. Oscar Andres FF was dismissed by the judge because prosecutors lacked sufficient evidence to prosecute him.
The case was investigated and prosecuted for the crime of murder committed in a public meeting and against a candidate for popular election, as Villavicencio was running for the presidency. The defendants indicated that the motive for the murder was to obtain more power, as they were allegedly offered to be “owners of half of Quito” and to have “control of the prisons.”
When presenting the fiscal accusation, prosecutors recalled that the attack against the candidate also caused other victims, as the shots injured another twelve citizens, including police officers, political activists and a passersby. The implications of this case goes beyond Ecuador’s borders, as according to a report from a Peruvian media, at least one of the weapons used for the assassination had a Peruvian registration.
