Elections in Ecuador: 21 candidates suspected of links to drug trafficking
Ecuadorian President Guillermo Lasso (our photo) is accused of not tackling the problem of the links between politics and drug trafficking.
© Matilde Campodonico/AP
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
Less than a month before the municipal and regional elections and the referendum on February 5 in Ecuador, the electoral campaign is in full swing in a tense atmosphere.
The president of the National Assembly's control commission denounced the links of 21 candidates with drug trafficking and corruption.
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With our correspondent in Ecuador,
Éric Samson
Accusing President Guillermo Lasso of not identifying or attacking the corrupt politicians he regularly denounces, MP Fernando Villavicencio, chairman of the National Assembly's Control Commission, decided to take the plunge.
In a document submitted to the prosecution and the National Electoral Council, he denounced the alleged links of 21 candidates with drug trafficking and corruption.
He notably cited Adis Solis, candidate for mayor of the border town of San Lorenzo who, according to him, cannot justify the increase in his wealth and shows his fortune on his social networks.
A narco-state
For Villavicencio, Ecuador is about to turn into a narco-state.
“
After the arrest of El Chapo's son, Mexico is telling the world that there can be no democracy or freedom if criminal organizations corrupt the political system.
The story of Colombia about is another cry of alarm for our continent and unfortunately Ecuador in turn is taking this path
,” he said.
Landing runway
Villavicencio also claims that the campaign of Holguer Manjarrés, candidate for mayor of Atacames, is financed by an Ecuadorian drug trafficker, Enrique Portocarrero, currently detained in Spain.
Another candidate for mayor of Tosagua, in the province of Manabi, would have built runways for him for "narco planes", according to the police.
The prosecution announced the opening of a preliminary investigation.
►Also read
: Ecuador: start of the campaign for the referendum on the Constitution
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Ecuador
Guillermo Lasso
Crime
Corruption