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Ecuador has erupted into a 'civil war' with cartel thugs after the president ordered the army onto the streets and declared a state of 'internal armed conflict'. Crazed criminals have rampaged through the South American country's cities today after President Daniel Noboa, 36, ordered a state of emergency. Hooded gangsters seized a state TV news studio today, while a university was attacked and jail guards reportedly executed by prisoners. Ecuador has been rocked by a series of attacks including explosions and the abduction of several police officers after the government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the...

New Jersey Sen. Robert Menendez interceded on behalf of an Ecuadorian woman who was banned from traveling to the U.S. because of allegations she had engaged in visa fraud. The woman, Estafania Isaias, is the daughter of a fugitive from Ecuador convicted in absentia for bank fraud and whose relatives in Florida made significant campaign donations to the New Jersey Democrat's 2012 campaign and the Democratic Party. Current and former U.S. government officials tell NBC 4 New York that Estefania Isaias was barred from traveling to the U.S. in 2007 because she allegedly lied on visa applications to bring immigrant...

China poised to take over U.S. base at Ecuador's invitation Ecuador’s president has offered the Chinese government an airbase currently serving as one of the last U.S. military outposts in South America. Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa said during his recent visit to China that he would offer Beijing a lease on the Manta Airport, the presidential website reported last week. Currently, Manta is used by U.S. military forces for operations. The contract is up in 2009 and Correa will not renew it, a transport and public works ministry communications official told BNamericas. Correa said access to the air base is...

Six men suspected of killing Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio have been killed in prison. The prison authority in Ecuador reported this in a statement. Ecuadorian President Lasso writes on... Drug violence Villavicencio was shot dead in the capital Quito in August after speaking at a campaign rally, two weeks before the elections. The gunman was killed in a shootout after the attack. Shortly after Villavicencio's murder, six Colombians were arrested. They were linked to the Los Lobos drug gang. It is not clear whether these are also the six suspects who have now been killed. Villavicencio's death shocked the...

Unknown gunmen killed presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio – running on a strong-on-crime, anti-corruption, anti-China platform – on Wednesday night before a massive crowd outside of a campaign event in Quito, Ecuador. Villavicencio was one of eight candidates vying for the presidency of Ecuador. The election remains scheduled to take place on August 20, the result of current President Guillermo Lasso, a conservative, using a constitutional provision to dissolve the National Assembly (the federal legislature) in May and call for general elections. Lasso claimed the unprecedented measure was necessary because leftist lawmakers’ incessant attempts to impeach him had made the regular...

In a shocking incident that has sent shockwaves through Ecuador's political landscape, the notorious Los Lobos gang has carried out a violent action. Fernando Villavicencio, a prominent presidential candidate known for his staunch stance against corruption, lost his life in an armed attack just days before the scheduled presidential election on August 20th. The assassination of the presidential candidate was claimed by the Los Lobos gang, who released a video proudly displaying victory signs and shouting slogans of triumph. Villavicencio was fatally shot three times in the head by an assailant while getting into his vehicle after attending an event...

Ecuadorian right-wing Presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was assassinated at a campaign rally on Wednesday. Fernando Villavicencio was reportedly shot in the head three times. A grenade was also found at the scene. WATCH: Quedó grabado el Momento exacto en que matan a Fernando Villavicencio!! pic.twitter.com/7kpqUzwzQ4 — Emergencias Ec (@EmergenciasEc) August 10, 2023 According to local media reports, supporters of Fernando Villavicencio managed to capture a suspect after the assassination. WATCH: Simpatizantes de Fernando Villavicencio lograron capturar a un sospechoso del crimen al candidato. pic.twitter.com/juqh67WlYk — Ronald Vinces (@RonaldVinces5) August 10, 2023 Additional footage of the immediate aftermath and chaos was...

Ecuador presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead during a campaign event in northern Quito on Wednesday night, according to Reuters. A suspect in the killing of Villavicencio later died from injuries sustained during a shootout, the attorney general's office said on Twitter. "A suspect, who was injured during the shootout with security personnel, was apprehended and moved, badly injured, to the (attorney general's) unit in Quito. An ambulance from the fire department confirmed his death, the police are proceeding with collection of the cadaver," the attorney general's office said. Villavicencio's party Movimiento Construye said on armed men attacked its...

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio has been killed, the country’s president Guillermo Lasso has said, vowing the “crime will not go unpunished”. Local media had earlier reported Villavicencio, a former lawmaker who had been polling at 7.5%, had been shot at a campaign event in Quito.