Footballer Mario Pineida murdered in Guayaquil; police investigate attack
Former Ecuadorian national team player Mario Pineida was shot dead in Guayaquil. His partner also died and his mother was wounded.
Footballer Mario Pineida attacked and killed by gunfire in Guayaquil
Ecuadorian footballer Mario Pineida, 33, was shot dead on Wednesday at a meat shop in Guayaquil, a coastal city 265 kilometres south-west of Quito. According to abc7.com, the player's partner also died in the attack and his mother was wounded.
What security cameras show
The incident was recorded by security cameras. In footage released on Thursday on social media, a man—later identified by police as Pineida—is seen leaving the shop wearing white shorts, a blue shirt and a cap. Two men, one wearing a motorcycle helmet and another wearing a cap, immediately point firearms at him and open fire. A woman present at the location was directly attacked. The assailants fled the scene.
The authorities made no official statement regarding the video. The police responded to an inquiry from The Associated Press stating that the case continues under investigation.
Police version of the attack
Colonel Edison Palacios, head of police in Guayaquil, stated on Wednesday that according to witness statements, "two men on motorcycles attacked two people". He clarified that the deceased woman was the player's partner, whilst Pineida's mother was wounded. The Interior Ministry indicated that the incident is being investigated by the Directorate for Investigation of Crimes Against Life.
Player's career
Pineida worked as a left-back for Barcelona Sporting Club, one of the emblematic teams of the Ecuadorian Serie A, since 2016. With that shirt he won the national championship in 2016 and won the title again in 2020. In 2021 he had a spell at Fluminense in Brazil and accumulated nine matches with the Ecuadorian national team, with his last appearance at the Copa América that year against Brazil. He was also called up for the 2015 edition of the same tournament, although he did not get to play any minutes.
Barcelona Sporting Club officially stated that it "has been officially notified of" Pineida's death "following an attack against him", and announced it will make known the details of the funeral arrangements. Liga de Quito and Independiente del Valle—a club where the player also played—expressed their condolences on the social network X.
One more death in the wave of violence
Pineida's death is not an isolated case in Ecuadorian football. In November, Miguel Nazareno, a 16-year-old player for Independiente del Valle, died from a stray bullet in Guayaquil. In September, Maicol Valencia and Leandro Yépez, from Exapromo Costa, and Jonathan González, from club 22 de Junio, both from the Segunda División, also died from gunshot wounds.
Ecuador is on track to close 2025 as the most violent year in its history. The Ecuadorian Organised Crime Observatory records more than 9,000 homicides in the year, a figure that surpasses the 7,063 violent deaths of 2024 and the previous record of 8,248 in 2023. The government of president Daniel Noboa has maintained that it faces criminal organisations linked to international drug trafficking cartels that have expanded their operations in Ecuadorian territory.
Source: Google News EC — Crime