2023-08-19 17:34:06
Otto Sonnenholzner, presidential candidate and former vice president of Ecuador, had a scare this Saturday when a shooting was recorded near the place where he had breakfast in the coastal province of Guayas.
(Furthermore: “They tried to kill me”: mayor of province in Ecuador denounces attack against him)
“We have just suffered a shooting in front of the place where I was having breakfast with my family. Thank God we are all well but we demand an investigation of what happened,” he wrote on his X social network account (formerly Twitter).
(Keep reading: Fernando Villavicencio’s family denounces President Lasso for murder by omission)
The candidate added: “The fear and impotence that I saw in the eyes of everyone present hurts me. We cannot continue like this. Tomorrow we will change course!”
In a video circulating on social networks, the candidate is seen preparing to pose for a photo with a follower in a restaurant, when shots are heard, and the local people seek shelter.
(Also read: Elections in Ecuador: keys to voting this weekend)
The Police indicated that they are collating information “since there was a police pursuit, of which there are results, which will be reported in a timely manner.”
We just suffered a shooting in front of the place where I was having breakfast with my family.
Thank God we are all fine but we demand an investigation into what happened.
The fear and helplessness that I saw in the eyes of everyone present hurts me.
We can’t go on like this…— Otto Sonnenholzner (@ottosonnenh) August 19, 2023
The incident occurs at a time of increasing violence in Ecuador, which the authorities attribute to organized crime with ties to drug trafficking.
Ecuador ended 2022 with a rate of 25.32 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants, the highest figure in its history.
(We recommend: Wave of violence in Ecuador triggers sales of armored cars and bulletproof vests)
Last July, Rider Sánchez, a candidate for assembly in the province of Esmeraldas, from the political coalition that supports Sonnenholzner, was murdered.
On the other hand, Francisco Tamaríz, mayor of La Libertad, in the coastal province of Santa Elena, located in the southwest of Ecuador, denounced having been the target of an attack on him on Friday night.
“They tried to kill me 40 minutes ago, more than eight witnesses. Ambush in K2,” he wrote on his X account (formerly Twitter).
(You can read: Shooting is recorded during the closing of a candidate’s campaign in Ecuador)
In a video on his social networks, he indicated that “a white van, without any logo or identification of the National Police, people get off: one hooded, dressed as a civilian, and the other, in the same way, people I know and have fully visualized, who works in police intelligence”.
“They never asked absolutely anything, they did not ask for identification, absolutely nothing. Any comment other than that is a lie, and in a matter of seconds they began to riddle the vehicle where we were going with my wife, together with my comadre, my compadre,” he recounted in a video in which he appears with his wife, both wearing bulletproof vests.
(In addition: Ecuadorian Authority approves candidacy for the replacement of Fernando Villavicencio)
Consulted about the complaint, the Police advanced that they will make a statement at a press conference.
In this spiral of violence, the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio also took place on August 9, who had focused on combating corruption and drug trafficking mafias and who, days before, had denounced death threats allegedly from Adolfo Macías “Fito “, the boss of the criminal gang Los Choneros.
EFE
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