Six suspects have been arrested in connection with the assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio and another suspect shot dead were all foreigners, authorities said on Friday.
The six suspects, all members of organised crime groups, carrying weapons were captured hiding in a house in Quito, said a police report.
The killing was described a political crime of a terrorist nature; Ecuadorian Interior Minister Juan Zapata confirmed that all the suspects were foreigners without revealing their nationalities.
The minister noted that the police would continue investigating and seeking a motive for the crime.
Ecuadorian President, Guillermo Lasso decreed three days of national mourning for presidential candidate Villavicencio.
The assassination, which the government attributed to organised crime, occurred amid the electoral campaign for elections, which will go ahead as planned on Aug. 20, Lasso said.
The president also decreed a 60-day state of emergency throughout the country due to serious internal upheaval.
It included the mobilisation of the armed forces and the police to maintain order and public safety.
Villavicencio was shot and killed earlier on Wednesday following a political rally.
The 59-year-old presidential candidate was a journalist and former National Assembly member, who forged his political career with a series of denunciations of corruption.
He was, according to polls, in fourth place for early general elections.
After sweeping the crime scene, police found the firearm that was used in the attack, as well as a grenade-like explosive device that was thrown at police units but did not explode.
The country had faced a series of political upheavals in recent years.
This has increased violence, assassinations, prison riots and dozens of bomb attacks had killed over 20 police officers so far in 2023. (Xinhua/NAN)
