A pair of violent attacks in Ecuador has left 14 people dead, some showing signs of torture, and 17 wounded. The first incident took place late Sunday in Guayaquil, Ecuador's largest city, where gunmen opened fire on a neighborhood soccer game, per CBS News. Police say the attack, attributed to the Freddy Kruger gang, killed six and injured 17, including three minors. Later, authorities discovered the bodies of four men and four women in Buena Fe, Los Rios province, about 125 miles north of Guayaquil. According to police, the victims' hands were bound with duct tape and their heads covered in black bags. Officials say the eight individuals were part of a larger party of 12 who had traveled from the capital, Quito. The others, an older woman and three girls, remain missing.
Ecuador, once considered one of Latin America's safest countries, has seen a surge in violence as its location between Colombia and Peru—two of the world's largest cocaine producers—has made it a key transit point for drug shipments. The Ecuadoran Observatory of Organized Crime reports more than 4,600 homicides in the first half of the year, a 47% jump from the same period in 2024. The country has also witnessed a wave of deadly prison riots tied to drug gangs. Last month, 17 people were killed in one such riot, with reports of inmates being beheaded. The US has designated two of the largest gangs, Los Choneros and Los Lobos, as foreign terrorist organizations. Los Choneros' purported leader was recaptured this year following an earlier prison escape.
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