A candidate in Ecuador’s forthcoming presidential election has been shot dead.
Fernando Villavicencio, a member of the country’s national assembly, was attacked after a campaign event in the northern city of Quito on Wednesday.
A member of his campaign team told local media Mr Villavicencio was getting into a car when a man stepped forward and shot him in the head.
The death was confirmed on social media by current president Guillermo Lasso.
Witnesses said Mr Villavicencio was shot three times and that the gunman was able to flee the scene.
The first round of the presidential election is scheduled to take place on 20 August.
Mr Lasso, who will not be on the ballot, said he was “outraged and shocked” by the killing and pledged that “this crime will not go unpunished”.
“Organized crime has come a long way, but the full weight of the law is going to fall on them,” he said.
A recent rise in violent crime, fuelled by the growing presence of drug cartels in Ecuador, has been a central issue in the presidential campaign.
Last month, Mr Lasso declared states of emergency and night curfews in three provinces following a number of killings linked to organised crime.
As well as security, Mr Villavicencio’s campaign had focused on tackling corruption, a topic he had covered in an earlier career as a journalist, and reducing environmental destruction.
Last week, he said he and his team had been threatened by the leader of a gang linked to drug trafficking.
His killing follows that of Agustín Intriago, mayor of the city of Manta, in July and Omar Menéndez, candidate for mayor in the city of Puerto López, in February.
Paying tribute, former vice president and fellow candidate Otto Sonnenholzner sent his “deepest condolences and deep solidarity” to Mr Villavicencio’s family.
“May God keep him in his glory,” he wrote. “Our country has gotten out of hand.”
