Ecuadorian soccer under attack from organized crime: Five players murdered in 2025

Ecuadorian police confirmed the arrest of two people linked to the murder of Mario Pineida, the Barcelona de Guayaquil soccer player who, on the afternoon of December 17, became another victim of the relentless violence in Guayaquil, the country’s most violent city. Pineida, who until then had been one of the most prominent stars of Ecuadorian soccer, was at a butcher’s shop in the Samanes neighborhood, in the north of the city. Just another neighborhood, one of those where daily life is intertwined with the constant threat of death.

The security cameras in the establishment captured the horror of the crime and the cold-bloodedness of the attackers. In the footage, one of the hitmen calmly approached, aiming directly at Pineida. The footballer, bewildered, raised his arms, as if he thought it was nothing more than a common robbery. But it wasn’t. The man, dressed in black, without hesitation, unleashed at least a dozen shots at him as the sound of the bullets echoed with terrifying brutality through the establishment.

Meanwhile, the other assailant, his face obscured by a motorcycle helmet, moved quickly toward the player’s partner, who was standing a few meters away at another counter. In a matter of seconds, the woman fell to the ground, the victim of a hail of bullets. The employees, who were trying to take cover behind some boxes, witnessed the violence that erupted. But before fleeing, the assailants approached the woman’s body and, with the same cold detachment, shot her.

The scene, captured on camera and etched in the memories of witnesses, became another painful chapter in the chain of tragedies that mark daily life in Guayaquil, where violence erupts without warning. It’s a place where fear has become a constant companion for the city’s inhabitants.

Pineida joins the list of footballers murdered in 2025, the most violent year in Ecuador’s history. He is the fifth to be killed. Three other players have survived armed attacks, carried out by hitmen. The year began with an attack on Richard Mina of Liga de Quito, who was wounded in an alleged robbery in Guayaquil. In September, the violence reached its peak: three footballers were gunned down within days. Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez, of Exapromo Costa FC, were murdered in a hotel in Manta, on Ecuador’s central coast. Just a week later, 31-year-old Jonathan González was shot in the head at his home in Esmeraldas, a city on the border with Colombia. This crime would later reveal the grim connection between sports betting mafias and Ecuadorian football.

González had received threats to throw a match that ended in a tie. The pressure to fix matches has become a deadly game for footballers. The list of victims is ever longer: Ariel Suárez, 21, a player for Orense, survived an armed attack in Machala, although his partner was left in critical condition. Bryan Angulo, of Liga de Portoviejo, also escaped unharmed from an attack while on his way to training.

In November, the murder of Miguel Nazareno, one of Ecuador’s most promising young footballers, shocked the nation. The 16-year-old athlete was shot in the head at his home in Guayaquil, a crime that reflected the escalating violence plaguing footballers in Ecuador. The constant threat of hitmen, the pressure of sports betting, and corruption linked to match-fixing have transformed soccer into a high-risk sport. Players, who should be admired, have become victims, caught between the new niche created by organized crime and the ineffectiveness of a state unable to control the spiral of violence.

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