Daily Times

A seventh Colombian prisoner accused in the August assassination of Ecuadoran presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has died behind bars, authorities in Quito said Saturday, as top security officials were sacked.

Ecuador’s prison authority said in a statement that the Colombian who died in the capital’s El Inca prison — like the six killed Friday in a prison in port city Guayaquil — was “linked” to the murder of presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Villavicencio.

President Guillermo Lasso on Saturday announced a “reorganization” of the country’s police leadership, with the force’s general commander, investigations chief and prisons director removed from their posts.

Lasso’s office also said it will file a criminal complaint against the director of the Guayaquil prison, where the prisoners were said to have died amid “disturbances.”

“He has already been detained… to give his version before the prosecutor’s office,” the presidency said.

Authorities have not provided details on the inmate deaths, nor explained how the Quito prison failed to provide extra protection for the seventh suspect following Friday’s killings.

The assassination of Villavicencio, a centrist who had been polling in second place, rocked Ecuador days ahead of the August 20 national elections in which corruption and the country’s declining security situation were major themes.

Six Colombians with long criminal records were arrested shortly after, while one was killed at the scene of the crime. Authorities arrested seven others days later.