David Ramos

By David Ramos

ACI Prensa Staff, Aug 10, 2023 / 08:30 am

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 restore public safety in our beloved country while reaffirming our firm commitment to pray and work for peace based on freedom, justice, and truth,” the Ecuadorian bishops said.

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This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.

David Ramos
Graduated in Communication Sciences from the Universidad Privada del Norte in Trujillo, Peru. I have been part of the ACI Prensa team for more than 10 years. I have covered Pope Francis' trips to Ecuador, Paraguay, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, and Peru. I covered the beatification ceremony of today's Saint Oscar Arnulfo Romero in San Salvador, El Salvador, in 2015. Special envoy for investigation in Honduras in 2016. Head of the ACI Prensa Office in Mexico since 2018.