A 12-year-old boy was amongst 17 folks killed when gunmen opened hearth on a bar in Ecuador, marking the newest mass capturing in a rustic suffering from drug-related violence.
Police Major Oscar Valencia mentioned the gunmen travelled in two pickup autos and “opened hearth on everybody” with “pistols and rifles”, earlier than firing on one other group as they fled the scene.
He mentioned the kid who was killed had ran for over a kilometre earlier than collapsing and dying from gunshot wounds.
Images from the scene printed in native media confirmed a number of our bodies on the road coated in white sheets.
Investigators mentioned they discovered not less than 40 items of ballistic proof on the scene.
Valencia mentioned witnesses reported the boys shouted “energetic wolves” – a doable reference to an area gang who has vied for management of drug trafficking routes.
Guayas has been on the frontline of worsening violence between drug traffickers.
Every week in the past, nine people were killed while playing pool in a bar within the vacationer resort of Playas, additionally in the identical Guayas area as the newest capturing. Police mentioned these killed within the earlier incident had been “collateral victims” and never the supposed targets.
President Daniel Noboa declared warfare on organised crime final 12 months. Since then, the nation has change into probably the most violent within the area, with a murder price of 38 per 100,000 folks in 2024.
In the primary 5 months of 2025, Ecuador recorded 4,051 homicides, in keeping with official figures.
According to official sources, almost three quarters of the world’s cocaine manufacturing passes by means of Ecuador.
