Ecuador processes extradition to US of suspect implicated in Villavicencio assassination
The National Court of Justice notified Salcedo of his extradition process to the United States. The detainee is serving more than 34 years in sentences and is being investigated for the assassination of the presidential candidate.
Extradition to US of suspect investigated for the assassination of Fernando Villavicencio
According to reports from prensa-latina.cu, Ecuador's Minister of the Interior, John Reimberg, confirmed on Tuesday in an interview with Radio Élite that the National Court of Justice formally notified a citizen identified as Salcedo, and another with the surname Herrera, of their respective extradition proceedings.
Both appear on a list of individuals whose procedures for being sent abroad are currently underway. Reimberg did not specify when they could leave the country.
The minister also did not explain the specific reasons why the United States is requesting Salcedo's extradition, although he stated that the detainee has pending matters with US justice.
Salcedo is held at El Encuentro, a maximum security prison located in the coastal province of Santa Elena. He is one of those being investigated in the case known as Magnicidio FV, related to the alleged intellectual authors of the assassination of presidential candidate Fernando Villavicencio, which occurred in Quito on 9 August 2023 when leaving a campaign rally.
Five people were convicted as direct perpetrators of the crime; eight others connected to the proceedings died before reaching trial.
The investigation into the alleged intellectual authors includes, in addition to Salcedo, former Interior Minister José Serrano, former assemblyman Ronny Aleaga, businessman Xavier Jordán, and three members of the criminal organisation Los Lobos.
Serrano was deported last Friday from the United States for immigration reasons and, upon arrival in the country, was transferred directly to El Encuentro, where he remains in preventive detention in the same case.
Salcedo is serving sentences that together exceed 34 years in prison for cases of corruption in the health and justice systems.
Ecuador enabled the extradition of its citizens following approval in the referendum and popular consultation of April 2024.
Source: Google News EC — Crime