Ecuador removes, investigates security officials after killings of suspects in candidate assassination

FILE PHOTO: Ecuadorean presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio speaks during a campaign rally in Quito, Ecuador August 9, 2023. REUTERS/Karen Toro/File Photo

(Reuters) -Ecuadorean President Guillermo Lasso announced on Saturday a shake up of the high ranks of the security forces following the killing of seven inmates accused in the murder of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio.

He removed two officials, the prisons director and the head of the police investigations unit, and replaced the head of the national police with Cesar Augusto Zapata Correa, a long-time member of the force with nearly 35 years of experience.