A politician was assassinated yesterday Monday in Ecuador, less than a week after the assassination of one of the favorites in the presidential election of Sunday, August 20, his faction announced.

Pedro Briones, an executive of the Citizen Revolution (Revolución Ciudadana) party of former President Rafael Correa (2007-2017) in the province of Esmeralda, was murdered yesterday, Luisa Gonzalez, the faction’s presidential candidate, said via X (the former Twitter) opinion polls big favorite of the match.

The candidate expressed “my solidarity with the family of comrade Pedro Briones, a new victim of violence” in Ecuador.

“Ecuador is living the bloodiest period” of its history, stressed Mrs. Gonzalez, blasting the “absolute abandonment” of the country by the “incompetent government”, complaining that the state has been “run over by the mafias”.

Neither the police nor the government of outgoing President Guillermo Lasso (right) immediately confirmed the killing.

According to the press, which cited a police source, Pedro Briones was murdered outside his home, in the community of San Mateo, by two men on a motorcycle who were able to escape.

Esmeraldas neighbors Colombia.

The new murder comes less than twenty-four hours after that of centrist candidate Fernando Villavicencio, favorite in the presidential elections, in the capital Quito on August 9.

The former journalist, 59, an anti-corruption crusader who ranked second in opinion polls, was gunned down as he left a campaign rally.

When he was a journalist, he contributed with his investigation to the impeachment of former President Correa for corruption. Mr. Correa, who lives in Belgium, the home country of his wife, who has granted him political asylum, was sentenced in absentia to serve 8 years in prison. He always continues to deny wrongdoing.

After the murder of Fernando Villavicencio, a state of emergency was declared in Ecuador.

Outgoing President Lasso blamed organized crime for the candidate’s murder and assured that “it will not go unpunished”.

Six Colombians have been arrested in the investigation into the murder, while a seventh Colombian was killed in the exchange of fire with the candidate’s bodyguards.