Five people linked to one of Ecuador’s biggest criminal gangs have been jailed for the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio last year.

Mr Villavicencio, a member of the country’s national assembly and an ex-journalist, was shot dead as he left a campaign rally in the capital, Quito, last August.

Carlos Angulo, the alleged leader of the Los Lobos gang, and Laura Castilla were sentenced to 34 years and eight months in prison for directing the hit.

Two men and a woman were handed 12-year sentences by the court in Quito for aiding a hit squad in the attack.

Prosecutors alleged that Angulo – widely known as The Invisible – ordered the hit from the Quito prison in which he is detained.

He denied the charges, claiming he was being made a “scapegoat” for the hit.

Castilla was left in charge of logistics for the hit. She allegedly supplied weapons, money and motorcycles to the men to carry out the hit.

The others - Erick Ramirez, Victor Flores and Alexandra Chimbo – were accused of helping the hit squad track Mr Villavicencio’s movements.

More than 70 people gave evidence during the trial, including a key witness who said the gang had been offered more than $200,000 (£154,000) to kill Mr Villavicencio.

A crusading anti-corruption activist, Mr Villavicencio had been one of the few candidates to allege links between organised crime and government officials in Ecuador.

In the weeks leading up to the election, the politician had received death threats and been given a security detail. But he continued to campaign and was gunned down by a group of assailants on 9 August outside a school in the north of Quito.

Prosecutors said during the trial that one of the men involved in the assassination was shot dead in a confrontation with police at the scene.

Six other men – all Colombian nationals – were later arrested in connection with the killing, but were subsequently found murdered at El Litoral prison, where they were being held in pre-trial detention.

A separate Investigation into who contracted Los Lobos to carry out the hit remains ongoing, prosecutors have said.

Mr Villavicencio’s widow, Veronica Sarauz, welcomed the ruling. But she said it only marked the beginning of a long road to determine the entire story behind her husband’s death.

Ecuador has historically been a relatively safe and stable country in Latin America, but crime has shot up in recent years, fuelled by the growing presence of Colombian and Mexican drug cartels, which have infiltrated local criminal gangs.

The Los Lobos gang led by Angulo is said to have deep connections to the powerful Jalisco New Generation cartel in Mexico. (BBC: Text, Excluding Headline)

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