Mario Pineida, a 33-year-old Barcelona de Quayaquil defender, was shot dead in an apparent attack, Ecuadorian police said on Wednesday, as violence escalates in the Andean nation.
The incident comes amid a record-breaking wave of violence in Ecuador, which has seen several professional athletes targeted in recent months.
In a post on X, his club, Barcelona SC, said it “regrets to inform, with deep sorrow, that it has been officially notified of the death of our player Mario Pineida, an event that occurred following an attack against him” in Guayaquil.
Pineida, was part of Ecuador’s national team for the 2018 and 2022 World Cup qualifiers, but was not selected for the squad for the 2022 finals in Qatar. He also played for Fluminense in 2022.
Digital news outlet Primicias reported Pineida was attacked by two people riding motorcycles, who opened fire on him, his mother and another woman. Another person who police did not identify was also killed in the incident, while a third person was wounded.
In September, three players from Ecuador’s second division were killed, with one of them allegedly being linked to sports betting. A month later, local footballer Bryan Angula was wounded in a shooting.
Ecuador is expected to have its most violent year on record with more than 9,000 homicides, according to the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime. That figure was at 7,063 violent deaths last year and a then-record 8,248 in 2023.
Ecuador President, Daniel Noboa has pledged to fight criminal organizations that have expanded their operations in Ecuadorian territory in connection with international drug cartels.