Ecuadoran footballer Mario Pineida was shot dead in the port city of Guayaquil on Wednesday, his club confirmed.
Guayaquil has become a hotspot for gang violence connected to drug trafficking with several football players in Ecuador have been targeted in recent months.
Pineida, 33, represented Ecuador’s national team for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, though he was not included in the squad for the 2022 finals in Qatar. He also played for Fluminense in 2022.
In a post on X, his club, Barcelona SC, said it “regrets to inform, with deep sorrow, that it has been officially notified of the death of our player Mario Pineida, an event that occurred following an attack against him” in Guayaquil.
Pineida’s death was confirmed by Ecuador’s interior ministry, which said a special police unit has been assigned to investigate the case.
Digital news outlet Primicias reported that Pineida was attacked by two motorcyclist who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman.
In recent months, Ecuadorian football has seen a spike in violence: three second division players were killed in September, one reportedly connected to sports betting, a month later, local footballer Bryan Angula was wounded in a shooting.
Ecuador, was once one of Latin America’s safest countries, has become a key cocaine transit hub between top producers Colombia and Peru, and consumers around the world.
Car bombings, shootings and extortion have been on the rise in Guayaquil, which recorded 1,900 murders between January and September — the highest toll in Ecuador.
AFP
