Ecuador presidential candidate assassinated: Fernando Villavicencio is shot dead while leaving a political rally less than two weeks before the vote

Gunmen in Ecuador shot dead presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio as he was leaving a rally on Wednesday night, with less than two weeks to go until a bitterly contested election.

Footage shared on social media showed Villavicencio, 59, being escorted out of the rally venue at 6:20pm local time and into a waiting car. He was climbing into the back seat when gunfire rang out. The windows did not appear to be bulletproof.

Last week Villavicencio, a former journalist, said he and his team had been threatened by the leader of a gang linked to drug trafficking. 

General Manuel Iniguez, a deputy commander of the Ecuadoran national police, said a police officer was also injured in the attack. 

The hit men launched a grenade toward Villavicencio’s group, but it did not explode.

He was taken to a nearby clinic and pronounced dead in hospital. 

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Villavicencio, a right-wing former member of Ecuador’s National Assembly before it was dissolved in May, had been polling at 7.5 percent.

He was behind at least two other candidates, but had been gaining support in recent days, and was seen as the toughest candidate on organized crime.

Fernando Villavicencio, 59, is seen moments before gunmen ambushed him on leaving a rally and shot him in the head

President Guillermo Lasso said the murder will not go unpunished.

‘For his memory and his fight, I assure you that this crime will not remain unpunished,’ tweeted Lasso. 

‘Organized crime have gone very far, but all the weight of the law will fall on them.’

Lasso said he would host top security officials at an urgent meeting.