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Suspects in Ecuador candidate assassination are Colombian: police

Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead after he attended this rally in Quito
Fernando Villavicencio was shot dead after he attended this rally in Quito

Six people arrested in connection with the assassination of a popular presidential candidate in Ecuador, as well as one attacker who was shot dead, were all Colombians, police said.

Previously, Interior Minister Juan Zapata had indicated that the suspects in the killing of Fernando Villavicencio were all foreigners.

He had added that "those arrested belong to organised crime gangs," without connecting the assassination to any one of the country's multiple groups known for drug trafficking.

Mr Villavicencio, a 59-year-old journalist and prominent anti-corruption crusader, was shot down as he left a campaign rally in the capital Quito on Wednesday night.

One of the alleged attackers was shot and killed by security personnel, and six other people were arrested.

"All of them, including the deceased, are Colombians," police said.

Mr Villavicencio's body was transported from a forensic lab to a funeral home north of Quito for a private wake.

Following the assassination, President Guillermo Lasso declared a two-month state of emergency.

Military personnel search a vehicle in Quito

Mr Lasso wrote on social media that he had "requested the support of the FBI" with the investigation into the murder.

He also declared three days of national mourning.

During the arrests and raids, police found a rifle, a sub-machine gun, four pistols, three grenades, two rifle magazines, four boxes of ammunition, two motorcycles and a vehicle reported as stolen.

Mr Villavicencio's journalistic investigations had exposed a vast corruption network, which led to former president Rafael Correa being sentenced to eight years in prison.

Ecuador's location, between major cocaine producers Colombia and Peru, and laxer controls have made it a new nerve centre for the global drug trade.