Ecuador Fires Prison Chief, Transfers Suspects After Murders
- Government to protect surviving suspects in Villavicencio case
- Slayings follow wave of killings in violent prison riots
Guillermo Lasso
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
Ecuador’s President Guillermo Lasso fired the head of the prison service and ordered the transfer of six surviving suspects in the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio after seven others were slain.
The killings at prisons in Guayaquil and Quito highlighted the power of organized crime that has made the nation one of the world’s most violent and will deepen the mystery over who ordered the death of Villavicencio.