Ecuador will hold a presidential election Sunday after a campaign marked by the murder of a top candidate and vows to tackle the lawlessness that has engulfed the once-peaceful nation.
The small South American country has in recent years become a playground for foreign drug mafia seeking to export cocaine from its shores, stirring up a brutal war between local gangs.
The murder rate has soared above that of Mexico or Colombia, and the assassination of several politicians in the run-up to the vote underscored the challenge facing Ecuador's leaders.