Presidents of Ecuador

A solid majority of Ecuadoran voters on Sunday approved the extradition to the United States of organized crime bosses in a referendum on measures against drug trafficking and gangs, the electoral council said.

Mexico said it has cut diplomatic ties with Ecuador after police stormed the country's embassy in Quito on Friday to arrest former Ecuadoran vice president Jorge Glas who was taking refuge there.

Ecuador has officially abandoned its plans to send Soviet-style weapons to the United States, which were intended for transfer to Ukraine, citing its stance on international armed conflicts. The decision was announced by Gabriela Sommerfeld, the foreign minister of Ecuador, as reported by Deutsche Welle.

Ecuador's armed forces were engaged in a brutal standoff with organized crime Thursday, deploying more than 22,400 soldiers to put down a campaign of terror waged by gangs that has claimed 16 lives.

In a harrowing turn of events, Ecuador finds itself in the throes of a declared "state of war" with drug cartels, marking the third consecutive day of a brutal campaign initiated by the criminal organizations. This violent response comes in the wake of a government crackdown on their illegal activities, as reported by AFP.

Ecuador's president gave orders Tuesday to "neutralize" criminal gangs after gunmen opened fire in a TV studio and bandits threatened random executions on a second day of terror in the violence-riddled country.

At least 10 people have been killed in a series of attacks blamed on gangs as the country exploded in what President Daniel Noboa called an "internal armed conflict".

Leftist frontrunner Luisa Gonzalez looked set to take on a surprise candidate, the youthful son of one of Ecuador's richest men, in a run-off election in October, official results showed Sunday.

Gonzalez, a lawyer close to divisive former socialist president Rafael Correa, was leading with 33 percent of the vote, as 80 percent of the vote was counted.

The running mate of slain Ecuadoran candidate Fernando Villavicencio will run for president in his place in August 20 elections, their party said Saturday.

"The movement will replace the presidential ticket by putting Andrea Gonzalez as president," the centrist Construye party said in a statement.

Ecuador's presidential candidate was killed during a campaign rally.

Fernando Villavicencio, who is also a former lawmaker, was shot dead in the capital, Quito. His Movimiento Construye party said on Twitter that gunmen attacked its offices in the capital, Quito.

President Guillermo Lasso vowed that the act would not go unpunished.

An Ecuadorian presidential candidate known for speaking up against cartels and corruption was shot and killed Wednesday at a political rally in the capital, amid a startling wave of gang-driven violence in the South American country.