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The ruling, read out by Milton Maroto, one of the court's three
judges, can be appealed by both the prosecution and the defense.
The trial started at the end of June.
Prosecutors accused at least two of those tried of belonging to
the Los Lobos crime gang, among 22 criminal gangs designated as
terrorists by President Daniel Noboa in January.
According to the attorney general's office, Carlos Edwin Angulo
Lara, known as 'El Invisible' ('The Invisible'), gave the order
to murder Villavicencio from prison, while Laura Dayanara
Castillo was in charge of logistics.
Both Angulo and Castillo were sentenced to 34 years and eight
months.
Erick Ramirez, Victor Flores and Alexandra Chimbo were sentenced
to 12 years.
Villavicencio, whose journalism exposed corruption and
connections between organized crime and politicians, had long
faced threats.
Prosecutors are undertaking a separate investigation into who
requested the murder.
One of the hit men died at the scene of Villavicencio's murder
and seven other suspects - mostly Colombian citizens - were
murdered in October while being held in prisons on pre-trial
detention.
Villavicencio's friends and family have decried multiple delays
and urged investigation into who ordered the killing.
Veronica Sarauz, Villavicencio's widow, had asked judges earlier
on Friday in a post on X to apply the full weight of the law to
those accused.
(Reporting by Alexandra ValenciaWriting by Julia Symmes Cobb)
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