Latest news with #ElEmpalme
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Seventeen killed as gunmen attack bar in Ecuador
A 12-year-old boy was among 17 people killed as gunmen fired into a bar in Ecuador, the latest mass shooting in a country ravaged by drug violence. Ecuador's attorney general's office said 14 others were injured in the attack on Sunday night at La Clínica bar in El Empalme. Police Major Oscar Valencia said the gunmen travelled in two pickup vehicles and "opened fire on everyone" with "pistols and rifles", before firing on another group as they fled the scene. He said the child who was killed had ran for over a kilometre before collapsing and dying from gunshot wounds. Images from the scene published in local media showed several bodies on the street covered in white sheets. Investigators said they found at least 40 pieces of ballistic evidence at the scene. Valencia said witnesses reported the men shouted "active wolves" - a possible reference to a local gang who has vied for control of drug trafficking routes. Guayas has been on the frontline of worsening violence between drug traffickers. A week ago, nine people were killed while playing pool in a bar in the tourist resort of Playas, also in the same Guayas region as the latest shooting. Police said those killed in the earlier incident had been "collateral victims" and not the intended targets. President Daniel Noboa declared war on organised crime last year. Since then, the nation has become one of the most violent in the region, with a homicide rate of 38 per 100,000 people in 2024. In the first five months of 2025, Ecuador recorded 4,051 homicides, according to official figures. According to official sources, nearly three quarters of the world's cocaine production passes through Ecuador. Powerful Ecuador drug lord 'Fito' extradited to US
Al Jazeera
2 days ago
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
At least 17 killed after gunmen storm small-town bar in Ecuador
Gunmen in Ecuador have killed at least 17 people, including a child, in an attack on a bar, the latest incident to underscore the South American nation's challenges with rising violent crime. The country's attorney general said on Monday that more than 40 pieces of ballistic evidence were recovered from the bar in the small town of El Empalme, located about 160 kilometres [100 miles] north of the city of Guayaquil in the coastal province of Guayas. Images shared by Ecuadorian media show bodies and pools of blood across the floor of the bar. Ecuador has reeled from a surge in violent crime over the last several years, which experts say is largely driven by criminal groups sparring over territory and lucrative drug trafficking routes. Police said that groups of gunmen in two trucks opened fire on the bar with pistols and rifles on Sunday night in an attack that also injured at least 11 people, with other reports putting the number as high as 14. One minor hit in the attack ran more than a kilometre before collapsing in the street and dying from his wounds. The news agency AFP reported that the trucks full of men also shot and killed two more people at a different location, and that the men shouted 'Active Wolves!' during the attack on the bar. El Empalme police chief Oscar Valencia said the term was a possible reference to the criminal group Los Lobos, which competes with another group, Los Choneros, for control of drug trafficking, extortion, kidnapping, and illegal mining operations. Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa has pushed for expanded powers for the executive and state security forces in the name of addressing crime, measures that have mostly won over public support despite concerns over potential abuses.
BBC News
2 days ago
- BBC News
Seventeen killed as gunmen attack bar in Ecuador
A 12-year-old boy was among 17 people killed as gunmen fired into a bar in Ecuador, the latest mass shooting in a country ravaged by drug attorney general's office said 14 others were injured in the attack on Sunday night at La Clínica bar in El Major Oscar Valencia said the gunmen travelled in two pickup vehicles and "opened fire on everyone" with "pistols and rifles", before firing on another group as they fled the said the child who was killed had ran for over a kilometre before collapsing and dying from gunshot wounds. Images from the scene published in local media showed several bodies on the street covered in white said they found at least 40 pieces of ballistic evidence at the said witnesses reported the men shouted "active wolves" - a possible reference to a local gang who has vied for control of drug trafficking routes. Guayas has been on the frontline of worsening violence between drug traffickers.A week ago, nine people were killed while playing pool in a bar in the tourist resort of Playas, also in the same Guayas region as the latest shooting. Police said those killed in the earlier incident had been "collateral victims" and not the intended Daniel Noboa declared war on organised crime last year. Since then, the nation has become one of the most violent in the region, with a homicide rate of 38 per 100,000 people in the first five months of 2025, Ecuador recorded 4,051 homicides, according to official to official sources, nearly three quarters of the world's cocaine production passes through Ecuador.
Free Malaysia Today
2 days ago
- Free Malaysia Today
14 civilians killed by armed attackers in Ecuador
Ecuador had a homicide rate of 38 per 100,000 people last year. (EPA Images pic) QUITO : Armed attackers killed at least 14 civilians, including a child, in two separate attacks yesterday in coastal Ecuador, authorities said, as drug trafficking gangs battle for control. Since president Daniel Noboa declared war on organised crime early last year, the nation has become one of the most violent in the region, with a homicide rate of 38 per 100,000 people in 2024. After the initial attack, police chief of the southwestern town of El Empalme, major Oscar Valencia, told reporters: 'We have approximately 12 people dead and three wounded.' The same attackers fired at a second group, killing two more people, he added. Valencia said attackers travelling in two pickup trucks shot at the victims with 'pistols and rifles'. 'They opened fire on everyone,' he said, adding that a 12-year-old boy was among the deceased. Bodies were left lying in a covered entrance of a liquor store, while dozens of relatives sat weeping on the sidewalk across the street. Investigators found at least 40 pieces of ballistic evidence at the scene, the officer said. The shooting comes as Ecuador experiences a surge in violence. In the first five months of 2025, Ecuador recorded 4,051 homicides, according to official figures. A week ago, nine people were killed while playing pool in a bar in the tourist resort of General Villamil, also in the southwest. Once considered a bastion of peace in Latin America, Ecuador has been plunged into crisis by the expansion of transnational cartels that use its ports to ship drugs to the US and Europe. According to official sources, 73% of the world's cocaine production passes through Ecuador. In 2024, the country seized a record 294 tons of drugs, primarily cocaine, compared to 221 tonnes in 2023.
Al Arabiya
2 days ago
- Al Arabiya
At least 14 civilians killed in Ecuador attacks: Police
Police said at least 14 civilians were killed Sunday in two attacks in a coastal area of Ecuador, where drug trafficking gangs have been engaged in a violent struggle for control. 'We have approximately 12 people dead and three wounded,' Major Oscar Valencia, police chief of the southwestern town of El Empalme, told reporters, adding the attackers fired at another group near the site of the initial massacre, killing two more people.
