At least 25 killed in coordinated gang attacks in Ecuador’s largest city

A coordinated series of attacks in Ecuador’s most populous city has left at least 25 people dead, according to officials, as the country grapples with escalating gang violence.

According to Ecuador’s National Police, the attacks occurred around 3 p.m. local time on Thursday in the city of Guayaquil. Authorities linked the violence to criminal organizations in the region, citing an internal dispute over control within the Tiguerones gang.

Guayaquil Mayor Aquiles Álvarez confirmed that 25 people were killed in a series of coordinated attacks in the Nueva Prosperina district and surrounding areas. He stated that at least 20 hitmen armed with rifles and 9mm pistols roamed the streets, “executing people in cold blood.”

Among the victims were children and teenagers, according to local media. Several others with gunshot wounds are receiving treatment at hospitals. Ecuador’s National Police reported that some of the deceased and injured had prior convictions for crimes such as robbery, drug trafficking, and illegal possession of firearms.

“Nueva Prosperina is a battlefield, leaving the town’s residents defenseless and living in fear,” Álvarez said. “The numbers are terrifying: 180 violent deaths in this district so far this year. A number that only grows and shows that the situation is not under control.”

The violence comes as several provinces in Ecuador remains under a state of emergency, declared by President Daniel Noboa in January amid rising gang violence across the country. The state of exception, which allows for military deployment and curfews in high-crime areas, was enacted after organized criminal groups carried out coordinated attacks, prison riots, and kidnappings of law enforcement officers.

Noboa has described Ecuador’s fight against criminal organizations as a “war” and has labeled gangs as terrorist groups. The government has intensified its crackdown on organized crime, deploying the military to reclaim control of prisons and restore order in cities plagued by violence. However, despite these measures, violent crime continues to surge, particularly in coastal cities such as Guayaquil, where powerful drug-trafficking gangs operate.