(QUITO, Ecuador) — Fernando Villavicencio, a presidential candidate in Ecuador, whose campaign highlighted alleged connections between gangs and government officials, was assassinated at the end of a campaign rally in Quito on Wednesday.
He was 59 years old and was one of nine candidates running for office.
Villavicencio, who was formerly an anti-corruption journalist, was shot while leaving a school after giving an address to young supporters, officials said.
Ten people were shot, including a suspected attacker and two police officers, according to interior ministry.
A suspected attacker died of his wounds, Interior Ministry officials told ABC News. Six people were arrested so far Quito’s Conocoto and San Bartolo, police said..
Wednesday’s assault marked the first assassination of a presidential candidate in the history of Ecuador. The Mayor of Manta was killed last month in the streets in a killing that officials said was connection with organized crime, officials said.
President Guillermo Lasso said that the presidential elections scheduled for August 20 will not be suspended.
Lasso said in a statement that “this crime will not be unpunished.” He added that “crime organizations went too far and will feel the weight of the law.”
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(LAMPEDUSA, Italy) — Forty-one people are presumed to have died in a shipwreck close to the Italian island of Lampedusa on Friday, survivors told the deputy general secretary of the Red Cross.
Four migrants told the Red Cross that on Thursday they left Sfax, Tunisia and were shipwrecked the next day during poor weather conditions. The surviving migrants said they had to use life preservers made from inner tubes to stay alive.
The survivors were rescued by the Italian Coast Guard and brought to Lampedusa, the southernmost island of Italy, on Wednesday.
There were 45 people, including three children onboard, the survivors said, according to the Red Cross’s Deputy General Secretary Ignazio Schintu.
When the boat sank everyone was together and then were separated, the remaining survivors said, according to the Red Cross.
The survivors told the Red Cross they clung to an abandoned motorless boat they spotted in the distance until their rescue.
Two men, one woman and an unaccompanied 13-year-old are the four people who survived the shipwreck, the International Organization for Migration, UNICEF and the UN Refugee Agency, said in a joint statement.
“Dangerous weather conditions make crossings in iron barges particularly perilous for navigation, highlighting smugglers’ total disregard for the lives of migrants and refugees making these journeys. Only a few days ago, a pregnant mother and a child lost their lives off Lampedusa,” the organizations said in their statement.
Thi shipwreck brings the number of people dead and missing in the central Mediterranean, the most active and dangerous migration route in the world, to 1,800, the International Organization of Migration said.
A fishing boat with an estimated 750 people capsized off the coast of Greece in June, considered “one of the most devastating accidents” to happen in the Mediterranean Sea in recent years, according to the International Rescue Committee.
More than 100 people were rescued from that shipwreck and over 80 people died, according to the International Rescue Committee. More than 500 people are estimated to be missing and feared dead, the organization said.
ABC News’ Will Gretsky contributed to this report.
(NASSAU, Bahamas) — A Georgia mom accused of plotting to kill her estranged husband while vacationing in the Bahamas was released on $100,000 bail on Wednesday.
Lindsay Shiver, a 36-year-old mother of three, was arrested last month and arraigned on murder conspiracy charges. She and two men are accused of planning to murder her husband, Richard Shiver, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.
Prosecutors say Lindsay Shiver, her alleged lover Terrance Bethel, 28, and alleged would-be hitman Faron Newbold Jr., 29, hatched a plan to kill Robert Shriver on July 16. Police in the Bahamas stumbled across the alleged plot during a search of Bethel’s cellphone while they were investigating another case.
After posting bail on Friday, Lindsay Shiver — who must stay in the Bahamas ahead of her trial — was set to be released on Tuesday. She had to return to prison because she had not provided the judge with a local address as required.
Lindsay Shiver was released on Wednesday following a court appearance with her alleged co-conspirators.
Among her bail conditions, Lindsay Shiver must wear an ankle bracelet, abide by a curfew and sign in at the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Central Police Station three times a week. The American embassy will retain her passport.
During a court appearance last week, her lawyer Ian Cargill told the court that his client’s parents were willing to rent a place for her to stay.
The alleged co-conspirators have also been released on $20,000 bail. They also will be required to wear ankle monitors and check in with authorities as part of their bail conditions.
All three have declined ABC News’ request for comment. Robert Shiver’s family spokesperson has also declined to comment on the case.
An indictment is expected to be served on Oct. 5. At that point, prosecutors are expected to disclose the evidence they will present at the trial.
(LONDON) — Eleven people are dead after a fire engulfed a vacation home in eastern France on Wednesday, according to The Associated Press.
The blaze broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time at a private accommodation in the French town of Wintzenheim, near the border with Germany. It wasn’t long before “violent flames” enveloped about 300 square meters (3,200 square feet) of the 500 square meter (5,400 square foot) structure, according to a press release from the local administration of France’s Haut-Rhin region, where Wintzenheim is located.
Dozens of firefighters were deployed to the scene and the blaze “was quickly brought under control,” the Haut-Rhin prefecture said. Seventeen people were evacuated, including one person who was transported to a hospital in a “relative emergency,” according to the prefecture.
The prefecture said the house was hosting a group of adults who were visiting for the summer holidays from the French city of Nancy, about 90 miles northwest of Wintzenheim.
The group included people with disabilities and their companions, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Faced with this tragedy, my thoughts go out to the victims, to the injured, to their loved ones,” Macron said in a statement posted on social media.
(PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti) — American woman Alix Dorsainvil and her young child have been freed and are safe after being kidnapped in Haiti roughly two weeks ago, according to a statement from El Roi Haiti, the nonprofit where she worked.
“It is with a heart of gratitude and immense joy that we at El Roi Haiti confirm the safe release of our staff member and friend, Alix Dorsainvil and her child who were held hostage in Port au Prince, Haiti,” El Roi Haiti said in a statement Wednesday.
Dorsainvil and her young daughter were taken from the El Roi compound outside of Port-au-Prince on July 27 and had been held since then. Negotiations to free her started shortly after she was taken, according to a Haitian law enforcement source.
Dorsainvil — originally from New Hampshire — has been living and working in Haiti “for some time now,” El Roi Haiti confirmed to ABC News. She works as a school and community nurse for the organization and is married to its director, with whom she shares the child, according to El Roi Haiti.
The kidnapping came as the U.S. Department of State ordered the evacuation of family members of U.S. government employees and non-emergency U.S. government employees in Haiti on July 27. The U.S. government’s travel advisory for Haiti is “do not travel due to kidnapping, crime, civil unrest, and poor health care infrastructure,” according to the State Department.
“Kidnapping is widespread, and victims regularly include U.S. citizens. Kidnappers may use sophisticated planning or take advantage of unplanned opportunities, and even convoys have been attacked. Kidnapping cases often involve ransom negotiations and U.S. citizen victims have been physically harmed during kidnappings. Victim’s families have paid thousands of dollars to rescue their family members,” the State Department said in its advisory.
“U.S. citizens wishing to depart Port-au-Prince should monitor local news and only do so when considered safe,” it continued.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Meredith Deliso contributed to this report.
(LONDON) — Eleven people are missing after a fire engulfed a vacation home for people with disabilities in eastern France on Wednesday morning, officials said.
The blaze broke out around 6:30 a.m. local time at a private accommodation in the French town of Wintzenheim, near the border with Germany. It wasn’t long before “violent flames” enveloped about 300 square meters (3,200 square feet) of the 500 square meter (5,400 square foot) structure, according to a press release from the local administration of France’s Haut-Rhin region, where Wintzenheim is located.
Dozens of firefighters were deployed to the scene and the blaze “was quickly brought under control,” the Haut-Rhin prefecture said. Seventeen people were evacuated, including one person who was transported to a hospital in a “relative emergency,” according to the prefecture.
The prefecture said the house was hosting a group of adults who were visiting for the summer holidays from the French city of Nancy, about 90 miles northwest of Wintzenheim.
The group included people with disabilities and their companions, according to French President Emmanuel Macron.
“Faced with this tragedy, my thoughts go out to the victims, to the injured, to their loved ones,” Macron said in a statement posted on social media.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
(NASSAU, Bahamas) — A Georgia mom accused of plotting to kill her estranged husband while vacationing in the Bahamas is set to be released on $100,000 bail on Wednesday.
Lindsay Shiver, a 36-year-old mother of three, was arrested last month and arraigned on murder conspiracy charges. She and two men are accused of planning to murder her husband, Richard Shiver, the Royal Bahamas Police Force said.
Prosecutors say Lindsay Shiver, her alleged lover Terrance Bethel, 28, and alleged would-be hitman Faron Newbold Jr., 29, hatched a plan to kill Robert Shriver on July 16. Police in the Bahamas stumbled across the alleged plot during a search of Bethel’s cellphone while they were investigating another case.
After posting bail on Friday, Lindsay Shiver — who must stay in the Bahamas ahead of her trial — was set to be released on Tuesday. She had to return to prison because she had not provided the judge with a local address as required.
Lindsay Shiver is now set to be released following a Wednesday court appearance. Her alleged co-conspirators are also expected to appear in court.
Among her bail conditions, Lindsay Shiver must wear an ankle bracelet, abide by a curfew and sign in at the Royal Bahamas Police Force’s Central Police Station three times a week. The American embassy will retain her passport.
During a court appearance last week, her lawyer Ian Cargill told the court that his client’s parents were willing to rent a place for her to stay.
The alleged co-conspirators have already been released on $20,000 bail.
All three have declined ABC News’ request for comment. Robert Shiver’s family spokesperson has also declined to comment on the case.
An indictment is expected to be served on Oct. 5. At that point, prosecutors are expected to disclose the evidence they will present at the trial.
(WASHINGTON) — The United States has now had “direct contact” with Niger’s junta leaders, but the conversations have yet to substantially move the needle as the West African nation — a key ally on counterterrorism in the region — faces an apparent coup, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller acknowledged for the first time during a press briefing on Monday that American diplomats have been speaking with Nigerien military figures behind the attempted takeover but said they “remain in touch with” the country’s democratically elected president and other leaders in West Africa.
“There has been direct contact with military leaders urging them to step aside,” Miller told reporters, insisting there was still a chance to turn things around despite the difficult realities.
“The window of opportunity is definitely still open,” he added. “I don’t want to put an assessment on when that window would be closed other than to say that using diplomacy to achieve this objective is our top priority with respect to Niger and we continue to pursue it.”
Acting Deputy U.S. Secretary of State Victoria Nuland was among the American diplomats who recently traveled to Niger to meet with the power-players in the insurgent government there, telling reporters later Monday that the goal was “to get some negotiations going and also to make absolutely clear what is at stake in our relationship and the economic and other kinds of support that we will legally have to cut off if democracy is not restored.”
But they were unable to make any significant progress despite speaking for more than two hours with Niger’s self-proclaimed top defense official, according to Nuland.
“The conversations were extremely frank and at times quite difficult,” Nuland said. “It was not easy to get traction there. They were quite firm in how they want to proceed.”
Nuland told reporters that her requests to see Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum went unfulfilled and she was also not given an opportunity to meet with Gen. Abdourahmane Tchiani, the commander of Niger’s presidential guard who has been declared the new head of state.
“I hope they will keep the door open to diplomacy,” she added. “We made that proposal. We’ll see.”
Despite the setbacks, Nuland said the U.S. was not yet ready to officially declare that a coup had indeed taken place in Niger.
“Obviously, we are at the stage where assistance is paused. There is still a lot of motion here,” she told reporters. “It is not our desire to go there, but they may push us to that point.”
On July 26, a group of mutinous soldiers led by Tchiani placed Bazoum and his family under house arrest in the Nigerien capital of Niamey. They then announced on Nigerien state television that they have “put an end to the regime” of Bazoum due to “the continuing degradation of the security situation, the bad economic and social governance.” The group, which calls itself the National Council for the Safeguarding of the Country, said “all institutions” have been suspended, aerial and land borders have been closed and a curfew has been imposed until the situation is stabilized.
“The defense and security forces are managing the situation. All external partners are asked not to interfere,” Tchiani, flanked by soldiers, said in the televised statement.
Bazoum’s apparent ousting marks the seventh attempted coup in West and Central Africa since 2020 and throws into question the future of Niger, a landlocked country that has had four coups since gaining independence from France in 1960. Bazoum was elected to office in 2021 in Niger’s first peaceful democratic transfer of power.
As military leaders seized control last month, the streets of Niger’s capital erupted in chaos as hundreds of people marched in support of the president while chanting “No coup d’etat.” Thousands of others came out in support of the junta, waving Russian flags and holding signs that read “Down with France.” Protesters also burned down a door and smashed windows at the French embassy in Niamey before being dispersed by Nigerien soldiers.
France, along with several other countries, has since evacuated its citizens from Niger while the U.S. partially evacuated its embassy in Niamey. Although the U.S. embassy remains open for limited, emergency services to its citizens there, routine consular services were suspended and Americans were being advised not to travel to Niger.
“We can confirm that our non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members have departed from Niger,” a U.S. Department of State spokesperson told ABC News in a statement on Monday. “We were able to accommodate nearly 100 private U.S. citizens with the extra capacity on the charter flight that relocated embassy employees and their family members on August 4. Some U.S. citizens also departed on flights organized by our French, Italian, and Spanish organized flight partners.”
The ordered temporary departure of non-emergency U.S. government personnel and eligible family members from the American embassy in Niamey has no impact on U.S. forces in Niger, according to U.S. Department of Defense spokesperson Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder.
The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), a regional body comprised of 15 West African countries, announced sanctions against Niger on July 30 and threatened to use force if the coup leaders don’t reinstate Bazoum within one week. The African Union and the United Nations have also issued statements condemning the apparent coup.
Guinea, a nearby nation that has been under military rule since 2021, issued a statement on July 30 expressing support for Niger’s junta and urging ECOWAS to “come to its senses.” On July 31, the military-ruled governments of Burkina Faso and Mali, which share borders with Niger, released a joint statement denouncing the ECOWAS sanctions as “illegal, illegitimate and inhumane,” refusing to apply them, and also warned that “any military intervention against Niger will be considered as a declaration of war against Burkina Faso and Mali.”
Meanwhile, Benin, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Senegal — all ECOWAS member states — have indicated their willingness to send troops into Niger if the bloc decided to do so.
Senior officials within the U.S. Department of State told ABC News last week that ECOWAS is creating plans for military action if it becomes necessary but sees it as a very last resort.
In a televised statement on Sunday night, hours before the deadline set by ECOWAS, a spokesperson for the Nigerien coup leaders announced that the nation’s airspace will be closed until further notice due to “the threat of intervention being prepared in a neighboring country.” The spokesperson warned that any airspace violation will be met with “an energetic and immediate response.” At least 3,000 Nigerien troops have since been moved from the northern Agadez region to the country’s southern border with Nigeria.
Various sources told ABC News on Monday that an American delegation was currently in the Nigerian capital of Abuja to discuss a strategy to avoid neighboring Niger being overtaken by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, which could destabilize the entire region.
Bazoum’s government has been a top ally to both the U.S. and Europe in the fight against violent extremists linked to al-Qaida and the Islamic State group in Africa’s Sahel region. The U.S. Department of Defense said it has provided $500 million in military assistance to Niger since 2012, “one of the largest” security assistance and training packages in sub-Saharan Africa.
There are currently 1,100 U.S. military personnel in Niger as part of a long-running counterterrorism mission that trains the Nigerien military and runs drone operations from a large base in the northern city of Agadez, located in the Sahara desert. Those operations have been suspended in the wake of the apparent coup, namely the drone activity since Niger’s airspace has been closed below 24,000 feet.
Other countries in the region, including Burkina Faso and Mali, have ousted the French military and instead enlisted the help of Wagner. In a voice message posted July 27 on social media channels linked to Wagner, the group’s founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, appeared to endorse the coup in Niger and offer the services of his fighters to the junta.
So far, there has been no indication that Prigozhin’s mercenaries have arrived in Niger, but the U.S. Department of State is aware of unverified reports that leaders of the Nigerien junta have traveled abroad to seek assistance from Wagner, according to Miller.
While the U.S. has freezed its funding to Niger amid the apparent coup, Miller said money could start flowing again as soon as Bazoum is back in control.
“That assistance will affect development aid to the government, security aid to the government. It’s a significant amount,” he told reporters on Monday. “I don’t have a number because it’s a pause, and it’s a pause that we would hope would be reversed if the junta leaders would step aside and restore constitutional order.”
“As we’ve made clear, hundreds of millions of dollars are at stake,” he added.
ABC News’ Luis Martinez, Emma Ogao and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(LISBON, Portugal) — In one of the most iconic moments coming out of World Youth Day, Pope Francis called on the hundreds of thousands gathered before him to yell back at him that the Catholic Church is for “todos, todos, todos” — everyone, everyone, everyone.
“The Lord is clear,” the pope insisted on Sunday. “The sick, the elderly, the young, old, ugly, beautiful, good and bad.”
Taking questions from reporters aboard his flight back to Rome after a five-day trip to Portugal, the pope was asked how he could reconcile his “todos” message with the fact that LGBTQ+ people are excluded from the sacraments. The pope answered the Church has laws, but is still a place for everyone.
Pia Held, who travelled from Germany, was among those fighting for better treatment of LGBTQ+ people within the church, bringing a rainbow flag to the massive evening prayer service held on Saturday in Lisbon’s Parque Tejo.
“Some people come up to me and hug me and say thank you for representing this,” she said, describing other pilgrims’ reactions to the flag. “And then other times you get people praying for you, because it’s sin or making faces, crossing their heart because they think it’s evil.”
Held described an incident during which another pilgrim grabbed ahold of her flag and broke into pieces, bringing her to tears.
“The attack wasn’t towards me, but towards this group of people,” she said, explaining she’s not gay herself. “And now I feel like I gotta step in and make it my fight. My faith tells me that everyone is loved, everyone is welcome.”
Held says the Pope’s “todos” message really resonated with her.
She “felt like that spoke directly to me. I felt so alone, and then when he said the church is for everyone, I felt like yes, I was right. What I did, and what I keep doing is exactly what we are supposed to do as Christians,” she said.
On his first day in Portugal, the pope also met with 13 victims who were sexually abused as children by members of the Catholic Church.
“Speaking with abused people is a very difficult experience,” the pope said as he reflected on the encounter. “But it also does me good, not because I like to listen, but because it helps me take on their load.”
He added the Church needs to “grab the bull by its horns” when it comes to child sex abuse.
The pontiff also shot down speculation that his eyesight was failing him, after he repeatedly abandoned his lengthy prepared remarks for shorter, off the cuff speeches. The pope told reporters he was just trying to connect with young people, who have a shorter attention span. He joked the homily can at times be akin to “torture.”
This was the 86-year-old’s first trip since he underwent abdominal surgery in June.
While the pope met with 15 young Ukrainians on Thursday, he faced some criticism for not taking a stronger stance in support of Ukraine.
One group of young Ukrainians who spoke with ABC News before mass on Sunday said they were disappointed, that they were hoping to see more from the pope — and specifically for the pontiff to condemn Russia by name.
“In thinking of this continent, I feel great sorrow for beloved Ukraine, which continues to suffer greatly,” the pope said, speaking to the crowd in his native Spanish before a noontime prayer and blessing.
He added, “Friends, allow me also, now an old man, to share with you young people a dream that I carry within: it is the dream of peace, the dream of young people praying for peace, living in peace and building a peaceful future.”
Aboard his plane, the pope defended his approach, telling reporters he had privately prayed for peace, that he just didn’t “advertise” it.
Local officials say over 1.5 million people attended the World Youth Day closing mass presided over by Francis on Sunday.
The pope said he’d host a Youth Jubilee in Rome during Jubilee Year which is set for 2025, ahead of the next World Youth Day in Seoul, South Korea, in 2027.
“This is a beautiful sign of the universality of the Church and the dream of unity to which you are witnesses,” he said.
As the pope arrived home on Monday, he made the customary visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, Vatican officials said. He paused in prayer before the icon of the Virgin Salus Populi Romani, then then returned to the Vatican.
(KYIV, Ukraine) — A Ukrainian woman has been detained by Ukraine’s Security Service in connection with an apparent plot to attack President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the service said on Monday.
The woman, who is from Mykolaiv but was not publicly named, was being questioned, officials said.
She had been part of a plot aimed at assassinating Zelenskyy during his visit last week to Mykolaiv, a southeastern city near the front, officials said.
She allegedly was planning to pass information on to Russian forces about Zelenskyy’s location, including specific places in the Mykolaiv region where the president was visiting.
The Russians would have then ordered an airstrike to assassinate him, Ukrainian officials alleged.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
ABC News’ Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
