Twelve people were killed and several others injured in a brutal attack on a cockfight in rural Ecuador, police confirmed on Friday. The gunmen, disguised in fake military uniforms, stormed the arena in the community of La Valencia in northwest Ecuador on Thursday night and opened fire with automatic weapons on a crowd of dozens.
Security footage circulating on social media captured the terrifying moment when the attackers entered the venue and began shooting indiscriminately, sending spectators diving for cover. The assailants, believed to be part of an organized criminal group, wore replica military gear a tactic increasingly used by gangs seeking to intimidate or confuse their targets.
“We have 12 people deceased as a result of an armed attack by a criminal group,” said police colonel Renan Miller Rivera. Several people were wounded, though the exact number was not disclosed. Police later found abandoned vehicles near the scene, one of which had been set ablaze and another overturned, along with discarded military-style clothing.
Four individuals were detained in the aftermath, including what police described as a “target of intermediate value,” according to national police chief Victor Hugo Zarate.
The massacre highlights the escalating violence in Ecuador, a country of 18 million that has become a key corridor for drug trafficking. Nestled between the world’s two largest cocaine producers Colombia and Peru Ecuador is now a battleground for rival gangs vying for control over lucrative smuggling routes. An estimated 73 percent of the world’s cocaine passes through the nation’s ports, according to the interior ministry.
Criminal networks have plunged the once-peaceful country into chaos, driving a surge in killings, kidnappings, and extortion. The attack in La Valencia is the latest in a wave of violence that led President Daniel Noboa to impose and recently renew a state of emergency.
Re-elected last Sunday, Noboa has advocated for stronger security measures, including the controversial proposal to allow U.S. special forces and military bases in Ecuador to help combat the narco threat.
As Ecuador continues to reel from relentless cartel violence, Thursday’s massacre underscores the growing need for both domestic and international action.
