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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Dan Collyns in Lima and Carla Valdiviezo in Quito

‘I’m not afraid’: Ecuador’s assassinated presidential candidate who fought the cartels

Coffin draped with banner bearing an image of Villavicencio's face
Supporters surround the coffin of Fernando Villavicencio at a tribute to the assassinated politician in Quito on 11 August. Photograph: Henry Romero/Reuters

Millions of Ecuadorians will have seen the phone camera footage showing the last seconds before presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was killed, shot through the windows of a white pickup truck after being escorted by unarmed policemen who were helpless to save him.

The images that followed showed panic and chaos as the burst of gunfire sent screaming supporters to the ground. Another clip filmed inside the campaign meeting, which Villavicencio had just left, showed panicked followers fleeing or ducking for cover and bloodstains on the tiled floor.

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