Less Than 24 Hours To Election: Ecuador Mayor Survives Assassination Attempt

Afimag.com –

The mayor of an Ecuadorian city, Francisco Tamariz, said that he has survived an assassination attempt a day before the country goes to the polls in general elections.

Francisco Tamariz, the mayor of the coastal town of La Libertad, who made this known on August 19, 2023, noted that he escaped uninjured from the Friday evening attack.

According to Tamariz, gunmen spilled over 30 gunshots at his vehicle, in an effort to kill him.

“They tried to kill me,” Tamariz said on X, formerly known as Twitter, adding that more than eight people had witnessed the shooting.

Ecuador will hold a presidential election on August 20, 2023, after a campaign marked by the murder of a top candidate and vows to tackle the lawlessness that has engulfed the country.

The South American nation has in recent years become a breed ground for foreign drug mafias seeking to export cocaine from its shores, stirring up a brutal war between local gangs.

The murder rate has soared above that of Mexico and Colombia, and the assassination of several politicians in the run-up to the vote underscored the challenges facing Ecuador’s leaders.

The most high-profile among them was presidential candidate and anti-corruption crusader Fernando Villavicencio, gunned down in broad daylight as he left a political rally just days ahead of the vote.