A morning operation involving thousands of Ecuadorian troops and police transferred a known gang boss to a maximum security prison.
After the murder of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, the name “Fito” was given to Jose Adolfo Macias.
On Wednesday, while the anti-corruption activist was leaving a demonstration, he was shot three times in the head.
Mr. Villavicencio said he was threatened by Fito before to his death.
He warned that if he kept bringing up Los Choneros, “the gang,” that “they” would eventually break him.
His death has rocked a country that, unlike many of its neighbours, has avoided the decades of drug-gang bloodshed, cartel conflicts, and corruption. The development of drug cartels in Colombia and Mexico has contributed to a dramatic increase in crime in recent years.
On Saturday, his Construye party nominated Andrea Gonzalez, Mr. Villavicencio’s running partner, as its presidential candidate.
The party said that Ms. Gonzalez, whose career has been dedicated to environmental protection, would “guarantee the legacy” of Mr. Villavicencio.
Meanwhile, Veronica Sarauz, Mr. Villavicencio’s widow, said she blamed the state for her husband’s murder and was disappointed that Ms. Gonzalez would be running in the election in his stead.
Corruption and drug usage were significant issues in Mr. Villavicencio’s campaign. He was one of the few candidates that brought up allegations of corruption by government officials in Ecuador’s capital.
The day before he was killed, he went to the Public Prosecutor’s Office to report what he said were $9 billion (£7 billion) in losses due to corruption in oil contracts signed by previous president Rafael Correa’s government.
Seven Colombians were involved in the murder, however six have been captured and one was killed in a gunfight. Nobody knows who hired and paid the assassins since the authorities haven’t revealed.
Security officials in Guayaquil released a video showing gang boss Fito, who had been detained in Prison 8 since 2011, being transferred while shackled and wearing only his pants.
Fito was reportedly sent to La Roca, a maximum security jail housing 150 inmates, according to Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso.
