5 handed jail terms of up to 34 years for murder of Ecuador presidential candidate

QUITO - A court in Ecuador on July 12 handed down prison sentences of between 12 years and 34 years for five people found guilty of murdering presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

Mr Villavicencio, a journalist and former legislator, was shot while leaving a rally in August 2023, becoming the most prominent victim of Ecuador's spiralling violence.

The ruling, read out by one of the court’s three judges, Mr Milton Maroto, can be appealed by both the prosecution and the defence. The trial started at the end of June.

Prosecutors accused at least two of those tried of belonging to the Los Lobos crime gang, among 22 criminal gangs designated as terrorists by President Daniel Noboa in January.

According to the Attorney-General’s office, Carlos Edwin Angulo Lara, known as “El Invisible” (The Invisible in Spanish), gave the order to murder Mr Villavicencio from prison, while Laura Dayanara Castillo was in charge of logistics.

Both Angulo and Castillo were sentenced to 34 years and eight months.

Erick Ramirez, Victor Flores and Alexandra Chimbo were sentenced to 12 years.

Mr Villavicencio, whose journalism exposed corruption and connections between organised crime and politicians, had long faced threats.

Prosecutors are undertaking a separate investigation into who requested the murder.

One of the hit men died at the scene of Mr Villavicencio's murder, and seven other suspects – mostly Colombian citizens – were murdered in October 2023 while being held in prisons on pre-trial detention.

Mr Villavicencio's friends and family have decried multiple delays and urged investigation into who ordered the killing.

Ms Veronica Sarauz, Mr Villavicencio's widow, had asked judges earlier on July 12 in a post on X to apply the full weight of the law to those accused. REUTERS