Shock prevails in Ecuador, as the presidential candidate was assassinated Fernando Villavicencio. The 59-year-old politician was shot in the head on Wednesday night while getting into his car after a campaign rally in the capital Quito.

Villavicencio, a member of Ecuador’s National Assembly before its dissolution in May, was one of the main candidates for the August 20 election. Witnesses said he was shot three times.

The right-wing politician and former journalist has been the toughest on organized crime plaguing the Latin American nation.

A suspect was killed in a crossfire by security services, the country’s attorney general said, adding that nine people were wounded – including a female parliamentary candidate and two police officers.

The current president Guillermo Lasso promised that “crime will not go unpunished.” “I am outraged and shocked by the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio,” President Lasso said via X (formerly Twitter). “I want to assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” he continued.

“Organized crime pulled it off, but it will face the full weight of the law,” he promised.

According to recent opinion polls, the murdered man ranked second in terms of voting intentions, garnering between 7.5 and 13%, behind lawyer Luisa Gonzalez, the candidate of former socialist president Rafael Correa’s faction.