Jailed Ecuadorian crime gang boss moved by government to maximum-security prison Saturday, three days after the very public assassination of a conservative presidential candidate who he’d allegedly threatened

Los Choneros gang boss, Adolfo Macías, aka Fito, was moved out of a jail with lighter security to a maximum-security prison in the same large complex of detention facilities in the port city of Guayaquil

Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, was fatally shot on Wednesday as he was leaving a campaign rally at a school north of the capital Quito, 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place

Villavicencio, 59, was one of eight registered candidates for the Aug 20 presidential election

Villavicencio had accused Los Choneros and Macías, whom he linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, of threatening him and his campaign team days before the assassination

Authorities on Thursday said they had arrested six suspects, all Colombian nationals and gang members, in connection with Villavicencio’s assassination.

Macías is serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and homicide

President Guillermo Lasso said the relocation of Los Choneros leader Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito,” was meant “for the safety of citizens and detainees”

Authorities moved the leader of one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs into a maximum-security prison Saturday, President Guillermo Lasso said the relocation of Los Choneros leader Adolfo Macías, alias Fito, [photo], was meant “for the safety of citizens and detainees”

Authorities moved the leader of one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs into a maximum-security prison Saturday, three days after the assassination of a presidential candidate who had denounced threats from the feared criminal.
The government in Ecuador has dispatched 4,000 elite personnel from its armed forces and police to the Zonal 8 Detention Center in Guayas province, two days after declaring a state of emergency in the wake of the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.
Villavicencio, 59, was fatally shot as he was leaving a campaign rally at a school north of the capital Quito, on Wednesday, August 9 – 11 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place.

Anti-corruption crusader and presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, photo], was fatally shot as he was leaving a campaign rally at a school north of the capital Quito, 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place

The former member of the country’s recently dissolved National Assembly was laid to rest in a private ceremony which took place at the Monteolivo cemetery in northern Quito on Friday.
Nine other people, including a female candidate for the National Assembly, as well as two police officers, were also injured in the attack.
Villavicencio’s assassination prompted  condemnation from Ecuador and the international community. It came just 10 days before the first round of the presidential election was set to take place.
Authorities on Thursday said they had arrested six suspects, all Colombian nationals and gang members, in connection with Villavicencio’s assassination.
Authorities moved the leader of one of Ecuador’s most powerful gangs into a maximum-security prison Saturday, three days after the assassination of a presidential candidate who had denounced threats from the feared criminal.

Thousands of soldiers and police officers, Saturday, raided the jail where Fito Macías [photo], was being held Saturday and seized weapons, ammunition and explosives. Macías, is serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and homicide

President Guillermo Lasso said the relocation of Los Choneros leader Adolfo Macías, alias “Fito,” was meant “for the safety of citizens and detainees.”
The gang boss was moved out of a jail with lighter security into a maximum-security prison in the same large complex of detention facilities in the port city of Guayaquil.
“Ecuador will recover peace and security,” Lasso tweeted.
“If violent reactions arise, we will act with full force.”
The joint military and police force raided the jail where Macías was being held Saturday, seizing weapons, ammunition and explosives. Corrections officials released images of the raid showing several prisoners, including Macías, who is serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and homicide.
Ecuador’s transformation into a major drug trafficking hub and the ensuing three-year surge of violence reached a new level with Wednesday’s assassination of Fernando Villavicencio during a campaign rally in Quito, the capital. The candidate, who was not a front-runner, was known for speaking up against drug cartels.

Macías, who is serving a 34-year sentence for drug trafficking, organized crime and homicide. Villavicencio had accused Los Choneros and Macías of threatening him and his campaign team days before the assassination

While authorities have not disclosed a motive for the killing, a judge Friday, ordered preventive detention for six Colombian men described by authorities as being suspected of involvement in the slaying.
Villavicencio, one of eight registered candidates for the Aug 20 presidential election, had accused Los Choneros and Macías, whom he linked to Mexico’s Sinaloa cartel, of threatening him and his campaign team days before the assassination.
 Villavicencio however, believed popular support would keep him safe.
“You’re my bulletproof vest. I don’t need one. You’re a brave people and I’m as brave as you are,” he said at a public meeting in the city of Chone, the heart of Los Choneros territory.
“Bring on the drug lords. Bring on the hitmen,” he told the crowd.

Villavicencio,, seen [L-R], minutes before he was shot, was on of eight presidential candidates. Though he was not a front-runner, was known for speaking up against drug cartels, and his campaign was gaining momentum

The first round of Ecuador’s presidential elections is scheduled to be held on August 20, and interior Minister Juan Zapata has described the assassination as a “political crime of a terrorist nature” aimed at sabotaging the election.
The Prosecutor’s Office said in a statement that it had “opened an investigation and other dangerous prisoners will be transferred.”
However, Villavicencio’s widow, Veronica Sarauz, has blamed the state for her husband’s murder and demanded answers as to why it happened.
“They did not protect him as they should have protected him,” Sarauz told a news conference on Saturday.
“The state was in charge of Fernando’s security. The state is directly responsible for the murder of my husband.
“The state still has to give many answers about everything that happened. His personal guards did not do their job,” she said.
The snap election was called after Lasso, a conservative former banker, dissolved the National Assembly by decree in May, acting to avoid being impeached over allegations that he failed to intervene to end a faulty contract between the state-owned oil transport company and a private tanker company. Lasso isn’t running for re-election.