US offers $5 million reward for information related to Ecuador election assassination
Fernando Villavicencio, was gunned down in Quito on Aug 9.
The US has announced a $5 million reward for information leading to the criminals who carried out the assassination of Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio in August.
Less than two weeks before the presidential election, a former lawmaker and crusading anti-corruption journalist Villavicencio, was gunned down in Quito on Aug 9. The Ecuadorian National Police have arrested six Colombian nationals, suspected to be a part of an organized crime group, as part of the assassination plot.
US Secretary of State Blinken on Villavicencio assassination
"Today, I am announcing a reward offer under the Transnational Organized Crime Rewards Program of up to $5 million for information leading to the arrest or conviction of co-conspirators and masterminds behind the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was quoted as saying in a release issued by the State Department on Thursday.
In addition to the $5 million reward, Blinken also announced a second reward offer of up to $1 million for information leading to the identification or location of any individual holding a key leadership position in the group responsible for Villavicencio's death.
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"The United States will continue to support the people of Ecuador and work to bring to justice individuals who seek to undermine democratic processes through violent crime," Blinken said in a statement.
"The investigation, supported by the FBI, continues to identify others involved in the assassination. The US will continue to support the people of Ecuador and work to bring to justice individuals who seek to undermine democratic processes through violent crime," Blinken added.
Villavicencio election campaign
Talking about Villavicencio, his election campaign had focused on tackling corruption and criminal gangs, and he was one of the few candidates to allege links between organized crime and government officials in Ecuador.
A serving congressman and former journalist, he had condemned what he said was the lenient approach to the gangs, saying that were he to come to power, there would be a crackdown.
Weeks before Villavicencio was killed, the mayor of the Ecuadorian city of Manta was shot dead.
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