Ecuador Bishops Condemn Assassination of Presidential Candidate Fernando Villavicencio

Villavicencio, who was a presidential candidate of the Movimiento Construye coalition, was shot and killed by an unidentified man while participating in a political rally on Wednesday night.

Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for president in Ecuador, was shot and killed Aug. 9, 2023, by an unidentified man at a political rally.
Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for president in Ecuador, was shot and killed Aug. 9, 2023, by an unidentified man at a political rally. (photo: Christian Medina / (CC BY-SA 2.0))

The Ecuadorian bishops’ conference on Wednesday condemned the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, 59, a candidate for president in Ecuador.

In a statement, the Ecuadorian bishops expressed their “deep solidarity” with Villavicencio’s family and said: “We also condemn all forms of violence unleashed at different levels of society.”

Villavicencio, who was a presidential candidate of the Movimiento Construye coalition, was shot and killed by an unidentified man while participating in a political rally on Wednesday night.

Through the social media network X (formerly Twitter), Guillermo Lasso, Ecuador’s president, said he was “outraged and dismayed” by the crime and assured that “it will not go unpunished.”

“Organized crime has gone too far, but the full weight of the law will fall on them,” he added.

“We join the initiatives to recover social security in our beloved country while ratifying our firm commitment to pray and work for peace based on freedom, justice, and truth,” the Ecuadorian bishops said.