Former football star Mario Pineida killed as violence escalates in Ecuador

According to Ecuadorian police, Mario Pineida, a 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil defender and former national team player, was shot dead in an apparent attack as the country’s violence worsens.

On Wednesday, a third person was hurt in addition to the two people who police chose not to identify.

Without providing specifics, the interior ministry of Ecuador confirmed Pineida’s death. The death of Pineida shocked Barcelona de Guayaquil’s fans, according to a statement released in a statement.

Pineida did not play in Ecuador’s qualifying for the 2026 edition despite playing eight games and earning the medals for Ecuador in 2018 and 2022.

His final appearance for Ecuador came against Brazil in a group-stage match in 2021. He attended the 2017 edition as well.

Pineida began his professional career at Independiente del Valle from 2010 to 2015. In 2016, he moved to Guayaquil, where he won two league titles. In 2022, the defender also spent a short time at Brazilian soccer team Fluminense.

The incident occurred in the Samanes region of Guayaquil, which is 265 kilometers (165 miles) southwest of Quito, according to Ecuadorian media reports.

Two motorcycle riders opened fire on Pineida, his mother, and another woman, according to Primicias, according to the digital news outlet Primicias.

Ecuador, one of Latin America’s safest nations, has grown into a major transit hub for top producers Colombia and Peru and international consumers.

Numerous football players in Ecuador have been the targets of recent months of gang violence in Guayaquil, which is a hotspot for drug trafficking.

The region has seen the highest number of murders in Ecuador, with 1, 900 recorded between January and September, which is the highest toll ever recorded.

More than 9, 000 homicides are expected to be recorded in Ecuador this year, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. Last year, there were 7, 063 violent deaths, and there were 8, 248 at the previous record, 8, 248 in 2023.

In response to international drug cartel expansion, President Daniel Noboa has pledged to fight criminal organizations.

A 16-year-old Independiente del Valle football player passed away in Guayaquil in November from a stray bullet.

Three second-tier players from Ecuador’s second division, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yepez, both from Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan Gonzalez, both of 22 de Junio, both received gunshot wounds two months prior.