Footballer Mario Pineida shot dead in Guayaquil
Mario Pineida, the Ecuador international defender, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Guayaquil on Wednesday evening, reports BritPanorama.
The 33-year-old Barcelona de Guayaquil player was standing outside a shop in the Samanes district when two assailants on motorbikes opened fire. His mother and another woman were also present during the attack. One other person died in the incident, while a third victim sustained injuries.
Ecuador’s Interior Ministry has confirmed Pineida’s death and dispatched a specialist police unit to investigate. The coastal city lies approximately 165 miles southwest of the capital Quito and has emerged as a hotspot for violence.
Pineida earned nine caps for his country between 2015 and 2021, featuring at both the 2017 and 2021 Copa América tournaments. His final international appearance came as a late substitute against Brazil during the group stages of the latter competition.
The defender launched his professional career at Independiente del Valle in 2010, spending five years with the club before transferring to Barcelona SC in 2016, where he claimed two domestic league championships over nine seasons. Following a loan move to Brazilian giants Fluminense in 2022, he returned to El Nacional before his tragic death.
This incident marks the latest in a troubling pattern of footballers falling victim to Ecuador’s violence epidemic. The nation is on course to record its bloodiest year in history, with projections from the Ecuadorian Observatory of Organized Crime indicating more than 9,000 homicides by year’s end, a significant escalation from the 7,063 violent deaths in 2024 and the previous record of 8,248 set in 2023. Guayaquil has registered the highest toll in the country, with 1,900 murders between January and September alone.
President Daniel Noboa has vowed to confront the criminal organisations that have expanded their reach across Ecuadorian territory, often in conjunction with international drug trafficking cartels. Pineida’s death is a stark reminder of the insecurity plaguing the country, with recent months seeing multiple players and innocent bystanders struck by gun violence.
Both Independiente del Valle and Fluminense paid tribute to their former player on social media, while Barcelona SC expressed that the news left everyone at the institution “deeply dismayed.” The Ecuadorian Football Federation issued a statement condemning the violence and extending condolences to Pineida’s family.
This tragedy lays bare the fragility of safety in regions once celebrated for their vibrant football culture. The ongoing violence impacts not just iconic figures like Pineida but also the broader community that rallies behind the sport in Ecuador.
