Bolsonaro to Villavicencio: Recent attacks on politicians in Latin America

Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, a vocal critic of corruption and organised crime, has been killed following a campaign event in northern Quito.

President Guillermo Lasso suggested that organised crime may be behind Villavicencio's slaying, less than two weeks before the August 20 presidential election.

“I assure you that this crime will not go unpunished,” Lasso said in a statement. “Organised crime has gone too far, but they will feel the full weight of the law.”

A state of emergency has been declared in the country following the killing.

Ecuador’s attorney general’s office said that one suspect died in custody from wounds sustained in a firefight after the killing, and police detained six suspects following raids in Quito.

In his final speech before he was killed, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would root out corruption and lock up the country’s “thieves”.

Prior to the shooting, Villavicencio said he had received multiple death threats, including from affiliates of Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel, one of a slew of international organised crime groups that now operate in Ecuador. He said his campaign represented a threat to such groups.

“Here I am showing my face. I'm not scared of them,” Villavicencio said in a statement, naming detained crime boss José Adolfo Macías by his alias 'Fito'.

Villavicencio was one of eight candidates, though not the front-runner. The politician, 59, was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement.

Prior to the killing on Wednesday evening, at least four politicians running for mayor were killed ahead of the February 2023 municipal elections.

The latest killing has put a spotlight on the long history of violence and assassination targeting political figures not only in Ecuador but the entire Latin American region.

Here are some other attacks on high-profile politicians from Latin America in recent years.

Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, Argentina

Argentina's Vice President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner survived an apparent assassination attempt in September 2022 after a gunman threatened her at near point-blank range. But the gun failed to discharge.

The assailant, who targeted the powerful politician -- a former president herself and first lady -- was quickly overpowered by her security officers in the incident.

Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil

During his first presidential campaign in September 2018, far-right former Brazilian President Bolsonaro was stabbed following a rally in Juiz de Fora north of Rio de Janeiro.

He was rushed to hospital and had emergency surgery on his liver, and he spent most of his time during the campaign season recovering in the hospital.

Jovenel Moise, Haiti

Haitian President Moise was shot dead in July 2021, and his wife, Martine Moise, was seriously wounded when heavily armed assassins stormed the couple's home.

Former Colombian soldiers, who were reportedly hired by a US-based group to carry out the killing, were later arrested and charged.

Ivan Duque, Colombia

On a visit to an area near the Colombia-Venezuela border in June 2021, right-wing Colombian President Duque's helicopter was struck by multiple bullets.

Authorities blamed former FARC rebels for the attack.

Francia Marquez, Colombia

Colombia's now Vice President Marquez had a narrow escape in May 2019 before she ran for office, when attackers launched a grenade and shot at her and other environmental activists.

Nicolas Maduro, Venezuela

Venezuelan President Maduro accused political foes of trying to kill him during an open-air speech in August 2018 by using explosive-laden drones in the capital city, Caracas.

Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta, Mexico

Perhaps, the most famous incident took place in March 1994, when Mexican politician and economist Luis Donaldo Colosio Murrieta was assassinated at a campaign rally in the city of Tijuana near the border with the US state of California.

Colosio Murrieta was running for president under the Institutional Revolutionary Party.

Although the assassin claimed that he acted alone, there were speculations that Colosio Murrieta's killing was linked to the narco-trafficking cartels in the country. But others have accused his own party, PRI, of betraying him due to his controversial political stance.