The murder of Fernando Villavicencio, a candidate for president of Ecuador, has sparked wild conjecture among politicians from all political parties, including some who were with him just before he was slain, regarding why he was assassinated and why he was not better protected
Before he entered politics, Villavicencio made a name for himself as an investigative journalist who exposed corruption. He was shot dead in Quito last week. Threats were nothing new to him.
Six suspects, all of whom the police claim are Colombians involved in criminal organisations, have been detained; one was killed in the gunfight.
But there are still many questions that remain unanswered, including why he was killed, who was actually responsible, and why his security failed. There is a lot of speculation in that space.
The question of why an armoured vehicle typically used by the candidate was in Guayaquil and not with Villavicencio on the day of the murder is one that the police stated last week their inquiry is looking into.
Villavicencio, who was shot in the head as he got into a car after a campaign event at a sports centre, had three rings of security, according to the police.
Among the nine people hurt in the incident were three police officers. At the location, police carefully detonated an explosive.
“He should have had a much stronger (security) structure,” Patricio Carrillo, a former interior minister and congressional candidate who was there when Villavicencio was killed, told Reuters.
