SANTA LUCIA, ECUADOR — Eight people were killed and three wounded when gunmen opened fire outside a nightclub in rural Santa Lucia, Guayas province, early Sunday, in the latest escalation of Ecuador’s ongoing violence.
Police said the victims — aged 20 to 40 — included seven who died at the scene and one who later succumbed in hospital. Witnesses reported the attackers arrived heavily armed, riding motorcycles and in two vehicles. The motive remains under investigation.
The assault comes just two days after gunmen attacked a boat in El Oro province, killing four and leaving several missing after explosives were fired at the vessel.
Guayas, along with El Oro, Manabí, and Los Ríos provinces, is under a state of emergency as authorities battle turf wars between organised crime groups linked to transnational drug cartels. The Pacific coast has become a key smuggling corridor to Central America, the US, and Europe.
Ecuador, a nation of 18 million, has recorded more than 4,600 killings so far this year. Last year saw nearly 7,000 murders — down from over 8,000 in 2023, the highest on record.
