Seven people lost their lives during armed attack In the middle of the road in the Guagili (southwest) In Ecuador, the theater of violent conflicts between rival gangs for drug trafficking control, which had a total of 14 victims at the weekend, Ecuadorian police said Monday.

Armed motorcycles killed 7 people on Sunday night, including a minor, who were concentrated in front of a retail store.

Videos uploaded to social networking sites and broadcast by the media depict corpses on the street.

According to Santiago Tuston, police chief in the Pasqualas area, where the murders were committed, the victims belonged to ‘Various criminal organizations’ And this may lead to “retaliation”.

The weekend was committed 14 murders in Guagilia city of almost three million residents, whose port is of strategic importance in exporting cocaine to US and Europe markets, the police officer said. Since the beginning of the year, 50 people have only been murdered in the Pasqualas sector.

On Friday, Air Force Brigade, involved in operations against drug gangs, was murdered near the Guagilian prison. According to the government of President Daniel Nomboa, his murder shows ‘The state of war’ in which it “is immersed the equator”.

Guyakil is the capital of the province of Wagia, one of seven (out of 24 in total) where it was re -imposed emergency state last month to halt violence.

The so -called drug war has allowed to reduce the homicide indicator in 38 per 100,000 inhabitants After the tragic record of 47/100,000 in 2023according to the government. It was at 6 per 100 in 2018.

The young President Noboa, a candidate for his re -election in the second round of the presidential election to be held in mid -April, declared the country last year ‘Internal armed conflict’; describing some twenty gangs of criminals ‘terrorist’ organizations in a ‘war’ situation with the state and permanently developing the army on the streets.

Ecuador lies between Colombia and Peru, the two countries with the largest production of cocaine in the world. In 2024, Ecuadorian authorities proceeded to seizure in total 294 tonnes of drugsmainly cocaine, compared to 221 tonnes in 2023.