Ecuador: Nine dead in gang-related shooting near Colombian border

Nine people were killed in a gang-related in northern Ecuador close to the Colombian border on Tuesday (April 11). According to the public prosecutor, dozens of attackers arrived in boats and cars at a small port in Esmeraldas province and then opened fire. Taking to Twitter, the public prosecutor said seven bodies were recovered from the port and two more from a nearby health centre.

Speaking to a local news channel, Interior Minister Juan Zapata said that the shooting was carried out by 30 heavily armed people, adding it was related to "a fight between gangs, a territorial fight," the news agency AFP reported.

Zapata said there were between 1,500 and 2,000 people in the port at the time of the shooting. The interior minister added that the shooting happened as fishermen "preferred the security" of one criminal organisation and were targeted by another in retaliation.

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Since March 3, the Esmeraldas province has been under a state of emergency due to high levels of crime and violence, as has the port city of Guayaquil. AFP reported on Tuesday that both areas have become increasingly bloody centres of a turf war between rival drug trafficking gangs.

Last month, police found three bodies, including a teenager, wrapped in black bags in the province. Authorities said they were linked to criminal gangs.
"In three weeks here we have seized 1.2 tons of drugs," Interior Minister Zapata said.

Ecuador has also seen a recent rise in violence and murders related to drug trafficking. In 2021, the country seized a record 210 tons of drugs, mainly cocaine.

(With inputs from agencies)

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