Seven killed in Ecuador bar shooting amid surge in gang violence

At least seven people were killed in Ecuador on Sunday when gunmen opened fire on a bar, police said, as the South American nation struggles with soaring gang violence.

“Seven people died from gunshot wounds” at a pool hall in the nightlife district of Santo Domingo, about 150 kilometers (93 miles) west of the capital Quito, national police told a press briefing, as purported security camera footage of the massacre circulated online.

Last month, least 17 people were gunned down when armed attackers opened fire inside a bar in Ecuador’s Guayas province, authorities said, marking the latest in a string of deadly shootings linked to the country’s deepening drug war.

The attack comes just a week after nine people were killed while playing pool in another bar in the coastal resort town of Playas, also in Guayas. Police later said the victims of that incident were not the intended targets but “collateral” casualties.

Ecuador has faced a surge in violence since President Daniel Noboa launched a crackdown on organised crime last year. The country’s homicide rate has since soared to 38 per 100,000 people in 2024, placing it among the most violent in Latin America.

Between January and May 2025 alone, Ecuador registered 4,051 homicides, according to government figures. Officials estimate that nearly three-quarters of the world’s cocaine output transits through the country, fuelling the deadly turf wars between criminal groups.

With inputs from agencies