US is sending FBI to Ecuador to help probe presidential candidate’s killing

Published 7:51 am Thursday, August 10, 2023

The Biden administration is planning to send the Federal Bureau of Investigation to Ecuador to aid in the investigation into the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, according to people familiar with the plans.

The U.S. offered the assistance on Wednesday night after the shooting of Villavicencio in Quito, according to one of the people. Both asked not to be identified without permission to speak publicly.

The FBI didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. It’s relatively common for the FBI to assist in this type of investigation in countries that are U.S. allies.

“The assassination of Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, an outspoken opponent of organized crime, is a brazen attack on democracy and the rule of law,” Brian Nichols, the assistant U.S. Secretary of State for the Western Hemisphere, said in a post on Twitter, the social media platform Elon Musk has renamed X. “We urge a swift and thorough investigation by the appropriate authorities and offer our support.”

Ecuador under President Guillermo Lasso has been one of the Biden administration’s closest allies in Latin America. Lasso visited Biden at the White House in December, and the leaders agreed that the countries had made historic progress in strengthening bilateral ties. Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, has urged the Biden administration to start trade-agreement talks with Ecuador, using a pact with Mexico and Canada as a template to expand export opportunities with a “trusted” partners in Latin America as China’s influence grows.

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(—With assistance from Chris Strohm)