“Fernando verbatim assured that we are not going to sit down to negotiate with any mafia (…) We are not going to do it,” he said. “Vengeance against the mafias of this country will be voted for by Fernando Villavicencio”.
Zurita is also a journalist who collaborated with Villavicencio in their investigations.
The National Electoral Council (CNE) must qualify Zurita’s candidacy. González will remain a vice-presidential candidate.
A former congressman and journalist with a history of exposing corruption, Villavicencio was shot dead on Wednesday just as he was getting into a parked car after leaving a campaign event in northern Quito.
Villavicencio’s death occurs at a time of a wave of violence and crime in the South American country, which plans to hold presidential elections on August 20.
FBI arrives to support investigations
A team of the US federal police arrived in Ecuador to support the investigations that will be carried out by the police authorities and the prosecutor’s office to determine the responsibilities in the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the interior minister of the South American country said on Sunday.
Villavicencio, a former congressman and former journalist investigating corruption incidents, was shot at as he was leaving a campaign event on Wednesday night. For the case to date there are six people arrested.
“The FBI commission is already in the country, it has made contact with the national police, in the next few hours there will be a tripartite meeting with the attorney general’s office, which is the head of the investigation to determine the scope of collaboration and support “Interior Minister Juan Zapata told reporters.
The official will highlight the arrest of the alleged perpetrators, but assured that they will deepen the investigations to capture other people involved.