MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Ecuador: Presidential candidate unharmed after gunshots

Interior Minister Zapata said the shots were not against Noboa and argued gunfights were commonplace in the area

Ecuadorian presidential candidate Daniel Noboa escaped unharmed after a shooting took place in his campaign closing rally ahead of the Aug. elections, it was reported in Quito.

 “They just attacked in Durán against the caravan in which we were mobilizing. Thank God, we were unharmed”, expressed the businessman and former Assemblyman on social media.

However, Interior Minister Juan Zapata ruled out an attack against Noboa's motorcade in Duran, a municipality in the metropolitan area of Guayaquil known for being one of the most crime-ridden areas of Ecuador, and insisted gunfights were commonplace there.

Zapata also said the National Police quickly put Noboa in safety, according to videos published by some of the candidate's followers on the internet.

“Bullying and fear have no place in the country we want and for which we are committed to change once and for all. We will continue the closing caravan in Guayaquil, taking care of ourselves but with great faith, optimism, and determination. Thank you for your messages and for encouraging us to continue,” concluded Noboa, who is running for the ADN alliance.

Thursday's event came eight days after the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio on Aug. 9, after leaving a rally north of Quito. Days before, Villavicencio had denounced death threats from Adolfo Macias 'Fito', the capo of 'Los Choneros', one of the most notorious criminal gangs dedicated in the country.

Noboa also denounced last Sunday having received death threats when participating in the mandatory presidential debate.

Noboa is one of the eight candidates running to succeed the conservative Guillermo Lasso and complete the 2021-2025 term, interrupted in May when the president invoked the constitutional mechanism of “cross death” to dissolve the National Assembly (Parliament).

Also Thursday, Ecuador's National Electoral Council approved the candidacy of journalist Christian Zurita to replace Villavicencio on behalf of the Movimiento Construye.

Former President Rafael Correa's party had contended that the investigative journalist was affiliated with the Renovación Total (Reto) party and not with Construye, which would render him ineligible for the candidacy. Zurita argued that his signature on a document linking him to Reto was forged and requested the CNE to remove its validity for Sunday's first round. Villavicencio's face, however, will appear in the electoral ballots instead of Zurita's since ballots have already been printed.

Villavicencio, a staunch opponent of Correism, was an investigative journalist. One of his jobs alongside Zurita led to Correa, who has lived in Belgium since leaving power in 2017, being sentenced in absentia to eight years in prison for corruption.