Armed conflict between drug gangs in Ecuador, 8 killed

At least eight people were shot dead Tuesday morning in the southwest coastal town of Ecuador, Guayaquil, amid a wave of criminal violence, national police reported.

The attack occurred in the Pascules district, along the Daule Highway. “The eight persons were killed by gunfire,”, police said in a statement, adding that officers were immediately sent to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of the attack.

Local media reported that the victims were shot in the Guayaquil industrial zone, near the Peca area and outside a municipal market, at the time the ambulance vendors had just started on their day. According to local television reports, five of the victims were taxi drivers with engines.

Police suggested that increasing violence may be linked to the seizure of four rifles over the weekend. Guayaquil, one of the most dangerous cities in Ecuador, has experienced a series of deadly attacks in recent days. On Sunday, four men were killed in an apartment in the Bastion Popular district. On Monday, a married couple were shot dead after leaving their children in school in the Mucho Lotte district.

The city, capital of the Guayas province, has been in a state of emergency since April due to what the government calls “serious internal concern”.

Ecuador has been facing a serious security crisis since January 2024, when President Daniel Noboa declared a “armed internal conflict” against organised crime groups linked to drug trafficking.