6 Colombians in murder of Ecuador presidential bet slain inside prison

Soldiers patrol from on top of an armored vehicle as supporters of presidential candidate Daniel Noboa, of the National Democratic Action Alliance political party, attend a rally downtown in Esmeraldas, Ecuador, Friday, October 6, 2023. Ecuador will hold a presidential runoff on October 15. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

QUITO, Ecuador — Six Colombians arrested as the alleged assassins of a candidate in Ecuador’s August presidential election were slain Friday inside a prison in Guayaquil, officials announced, without providing details on what happened.

The prison authority said only that six prisoners killed inside Litoral Penitentiary were the men “charged with the murder of former presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.” It identified them as Jhon Gregore R., Andrés Manuel M., Adey Fernando G., Camilo Andrés R., Sules Osmini C., and José Neyder L.

Earlier, the agency had reported that “an event occurred inside” the prison and six people were dead. Litoral is Ecuador’s biggest prison and is considered one of its most dangerous, being the scene of several riots with deaths in the past three years.

The killings came as the Prosecutor’s Office was near the conclusion of the investigation stage into the killing of Villavicencio, who was gunned down on August 9 while leaving a political rally.

The 59-year-old politician had not been considered among the front-runners, but the assassination in broad daylight less than two weeks before the vote was a shocking reminder of the surge in crime besetting Ecuador. He had reported being threatened by affiliates of Mexico’s Sinaloa drug cartel, one of the many international organized crime groups operating in Ecuador.

READ: Suspects in Ecuador assassination are Colombian, police say

Villavicencio’s alleged hitmen were captured hours after the crime and ordered held in preventive detention. Six other people also have been arrested for suspected involvement.

Although authorities released no information on the killings Friday, local media said the deaths occurred in pavilion 7, which officials have said is dominated by the local gang Los Choneros, led by Adolfo Macías. In his election campaign, Villaviciencio directly denounced Macías as the author of threats against his life.

READ: Ecuador holds 6 Colombians in slaying presidential candidate as violence weighs on nation

President Guillermo Lasso, who is out of the country, wrote on the social network X, formerly called Twitter, that he would return to Ecuador to attend to the emergency.

“Neither complicity nor cover-up, the truth will be known here,” he said.

Ecuador is holding a runoff presidential election Oct. 15 pitting the two top finishers in the August vote — leftist Luisa González and former lawmaker Daniel Noboa, who is the son of a banana tycoon.