Relatives of the presidential candidate assassinated last week in Ecuador, Fernando Villavicencio, filed a complaint this Friday for the crime of “murder by intentional omission” against the head of state, Guillermo Lasso, as a representative of the state, and against other authorities.
The complaint is also directed against the Minister of the Interior, Juan Zapata, and the General Commander of the Police, Fausto Salinas, among others, for considering that the security protocols and the complete protection that Villavicencio should have, who had a risk level of 97%, determined by the Police itself.
Marco Yaulema, the family’s lawyer, recalled that Villavicencio had been conducting investigations since 2007, including some related to acts of corruption in public State institutions. He carried out “around 200 investigations and denunciations of corruption” and wrote some 11 books on the same subjects, he said, adding that Villavicencio “endured one of the greatest persecutions in both the political and judicial spheres.”
A week before his murder, which occurred as he was leaving an electoral rally in Quito, Villavicencio had denounced threats against him and had assured that there were members of the police institution who were allegedly associated with the mafia.
Yaulema questioned the security protocols applied on August 9, when Villavicencio was murdered when he got into the back of a double-cab truck, which was on the street, which was not armored and did not have a driver, while the vehicle that was armored car was two minutes away, he said. “Oh surprise, they didn’t wait these two minutes, they transferred him to Fernando Villavicencio holding his arms, with a bottle in his left hand, I don’t know what substance, held by police officers by the arms, preventing his mobility,” he said.
He added that there was not an adequate number of guards, although the Police say that Villavicencio had three security rings. “When he was already in the back seat, he received two bullets to the face and one to the brain,” he explained, stressing that “there were an intentional omission, the Ecuadorian State did not fulfill its role as guarantor”, for which they filed the complaint for the crime of murder by intentional omission, punishable by up to 26 years in prison.
He stressed that they will go to international organizations if necessary, since they do not trust the country’s justice system. At a press conference, in which the eldest daughter, two brothers, her uncle and Patricia Barragán, who was shot during the attack on Villavicencio, were present, Yaulema also questioned whether the person suspected of having shot had not been immediately transferred to a house of health with custody, but taken to facilities of the Prosecutor’s Office, where he died.
Yaulema pointed out that the family nucleus and those close to Villavicencio need urgent protection, and warned that if something happens to them, “the State will be responsible” for omission. Upon learning of the murder, President Lasso expressed his condolences and said that the crime will not go unpunished. “If he (Lasso) really wanted to protect Fernando Villavicencio, he should have carried out suitable policies that he did not do,” the lawyer commented.
Next Sunday, Ecuadorians will go to the polls to elect the new president of the Republic until 2025. Seven candidates seek to succeed Lasso, while the Electoral Council qualified the candidacy of Christian Zurita to replace Villavicencio, who is still pending registration.