BARBARIC mega-gang The Wolves have claimed responsibility for the assassination of aspiring Ecuador president Fernando Villavicencio.
The politician, 59, was known for speaking up against cartels and corruption before he was shot dead at a rally on Wednesday.
In his final speech before he was killed in the capital Quito, Villavicencio promised a roaring crowd that he would root out corruption and lock up the country's thieves.
A haunting video has now emerged on social media showing a hooded clan wielding weapons claiming responsibility for the shooting.
One of the men - dressed head to toe in black - warns that they will take action against "corrupt politicians", reports La Razon.
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He said: "We want to make it clear to the entire Ecuadorian nation that every time corrupt politicians do not fulfill their promises to establish, when they receive our money, which is millions of dollars, to finance their campaign, they will be discharged."
They also issued a chilling threat to another presidential candidate Jan Topic, warning: "You too, Jan Topic, keep your word. If you don't keep your promises, you'll be next."
Topic sent his condolences to Villavicencio's wife and five children before temporarily suspending his campaign activities after Los Lobos' cruel taunt.
Known for their inhumane antics such as beheading rivals, the fierce group - called Los Lobos, which translates to The Wolves - is the second largest gang in Ecuador.
They began as a splinter group of the country's most prominent criminal group, the Choneros.
Many of its 8,000 members are behind bars and have been behind a number of deadly prison fights and massacres.
It's understood they were involved in the bloody fight between rival gangs at El Litoral - Ecuador's largest men's prison in the city of Guayaquil.
Police and soldiers who were forced to storm the jail last month made the grisly discovery of dozens of bodies.
The violence and unrest spread throughout other prisons as inmates took guards hostage and battered other lags.
In 2021, more than 116 were slain in a bitter battle between Los Lobos and another gang in one of the one prison massacres in Ecuador's history.
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Authorities said at least five people were barbarically beheaded as inmates ran riot in Litoral penitentiary in the coastal city of Guayaquil.
Images shared on social media showed dozens of bodies in the prison’s Pavilions 9 and 10 and scenes that looked like battlefields.
The fighting was with firearms, knives and bombs, officials said.
Regional police commander Fausto Buenaño said that bodies were being found in the prison’s pipelines.
And last year, Los Lobos members were understood to be involved in yet another prison bloodbath that left dozens dead.
Inmates were reportedly decapitated at Turi prison, Cuenca, as rival gangs again clashed at the Liberty Deprivation Centre, also known as the Turi prison in Cuenca in March 2022.
Gunshots rang out in the jail and authorities found evidence of the use of five types of guns - many of which had been concealed in walls and floors.
Since 2021, more than 315 prisoners have been killed in prison massacres in Ecuador.
Los Lobos members are said to side with Los Pipos, Los Chone Killers and Los Tiguerones gangs under the name of Nueva Generación when violence erupts behind bars.
The evil group has now cruelly boasted about being behind the assassination of Villavicencio.
Multiple bullets hit the former journalist as he left a political rally at a school on Wednesday evening.
Horror images showed terrified people screaming and taking cover as gunfire rang out.
Chilling video on social media showed Villavicencio being escorted out of the event by guards before entering a white truck before gunfire erupted.
Dozens of shots were heard as the horrified crowd ducked and fled.
A second clip appeared to show dad-of-five Villavicencio on the ground while a third video showed him being wheeled into the hospital on a stretcher.
It's understood the aspiring president was shot three times in the head.
He was raced to a nearby clinic where he was pronounced dead, less than two weeks before the election on August 20.
One suspect was shot dead in crossfire with security services.
A further nine people were injured in the horror incident, including a female candidate for the National Assembly and two police officers.
President Lasso said: "I assure you this crime will not go unpunished.
“Organized crime has gone too far but they will feel the full weight of the law.”
Villavicencio’s death comes as the country is dealing with a wave of violent crime, including drug trafficking and murders.
He was a member of Ecuador’s National Assembly before its dissolution in May and was one of the leading candidates in the first round of voting to succeed President Guillermo Lasso.
Villavicencio was one of eight candidates, though not the front-runner, for the August 20 vote.
The politician was the candidate for the Build Ecuador Movement.
Villavicencio was a vocal critic of corruption, especially during the tenure of former President Rafael Correa from 2007 to 2017.
He was also an independent journalist who investigated corruption in previous governments, later entering politics as an anti-graft campaigner.
His campaign adviser, Patricio Zuquilanda, had said that Villavicencio received several death threats before the shooting and reported them to the authorities.
