Ecuador: Five dead in armed attack against civilians

The attack took place on the night of Friday to Saturday in a hairdressing salon in the peripheral and deprived district of Pisuli.

“Several armed individuals entered the establishment and opened fire, causing the death of five people and injuring a woman,” according to the police, who have opened an investigation. Two of the victims were known to the justice system, with a history of theft, kidnapping with extortion, murder and possession of weapons, it said.

Clashes

Since August 31, Ecuador has experienced four attacks against prison system employees, resulting in four deaths.

Clashes between drug trafficking groups linked to international cartels, inside and outside prisons, are frequent in the country, which has become one of the most violent in the world.

Ecuador, with a population of 17 million, recorded a record 47 homicides per 100,000 inhabitants in 2023, compared to just six per 100,000 in 2018. And prison clashes have left more than 460 dead since 2021.

Since January, the government of President Daniel Noboa has deployed the military to the streets to fight drug traffickers. From January to September, 4,236 murders were committed, compared to 5,112 for the same period in 2023, according to the Interior Ministry. Located between Colombia and Peru, the world’s leading cocaine producers, Ecuador seized 168 tons of drugs in the first seven months of the year.

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AFP

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